Complicated Complication
by versatility
Summary: SPOILERS. The bitter truth is always better than the sweet lies. She knew that she was not real; a modificated person. It didn't stop someone from thinking she's interesting. Side Shizuo/OC, main Izaya/OC.
1. Shibuya to Ikebukuro

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Contains an OC, and pairing undecided.

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: Hi there! Welcome to my first Durarara! fic ever. I only watched the anime up to the end of season 1, and I'm still waiting for the next season. So the events mentioned here are only from the first season, since I haven't watched the second yet. Please don't hate me because I like OCs. Oh, and can you help me decide the pairing? It's Shizuo/OC and Izaya/OC… I'm torn!

Chapter 1 – Shibuya to Ikebukuro

It was exactly nine months since the gathering of a gang called Dollars. Ikebukuro was doing as usual today. Well, the usual is the unusual here, anyways. Flying stop signs and vending machines, a neighing black motorcycle, people wearing yellow running around trying to pick on someone, a giant foreigner giving out fliers of a sushi restaurant—things like that are considered normal in this city.

The train halted at the station. When the door opens, people rush hurriedly to get off the train and take care of their business. Ran Ryogo was part of the busy crowd. Just like other people, she got off the train and strode in an unusually quick pace—for a girl that is. Her wavy brown hair was tied in a high ponytail and swished rhythmically whenever she walks, while her bangs were almost covering one of her green eyes.

_Ikebukuro_. It's been a year since she left for Shibuya, but still, she rather missed this city. _The air is still smoky_, noted the girl. Maybe it's because a certain super powered-smoking-bodyguard was somewhere around her, flinging a vending machine as easy as a normal guy would throw an eraser to his classmate. A loud crash and screams were heard. Ran sighed. "Well, there he is." Walking out of the station, she headed towards the source of the noise.

She was definitely not surprised by the sight of the strongest man in Ikebukuro holding up a street sign, ready to launch the thing towards his mortal enemy: Izaya Orihara. Her eyes were blank as usual, never really showing any emotions. She joined the people that crowded around the men that were currently fighting. The raven-haired informant smirked at Shizuo—he was already used to this kind of situation. He shoved his hand into his pocket, reaching for the infamous switchblade he always brought with him.

They were fighting in the middle of a main street, but no actual traffic jam ensued. At the distance between the blond and the raven, there was a zebra cross. Ran's emotionless face broke into a smile and her green eyes seemed deeper—the setting was exactly like when the three first met. She decided to remind the two of what had happened two years ago, but how? It was simple to her: she just had to trigger the same event that the three shared as their first meeting. Making her way, she pushed through the crowd while saying "excuse me" in a confident way. People stared at her and started to murmur.

"What will she do? Is she insane?"

"Guess so. Nobody would dare to interrupt these two when they're fighting."

"Simon would."

"It doesn't matter. Will she be alright?"

One corner of Ran's glossed lips curled. _I'll definitely be alright, Mister,_ she replied to the man mentally, and proceeded towards Izaya and Shizuo. From the distance between her and the men, she could see Izaya talking and Shizuo twitching furiously with the street sign in his hand, but she couldn't hear what the informant broker said to provoke Shizuo. She put her emotionless mask back and approached the two.

_Stupid Shizuo, he didn't even look at me_, she mentally muttered. _As for Izaya, that freak, he's probably only pretending not to notice me. _Ran didn't stop. She continued until Shizuo was unable to bear the provoking words Izaya had said, and he forcefully swung the street sign towards Izaya. At the moment, Ran was in range of attack. She knew, of course, because she purposely did that.

At the sight of the twenty-two-year-old girl that was awfully familiar, Shizuo gripped the street sign, trying to stop the swing. It was a little too late though, as Ran tried to block the sign with her right leg, she lost her balance due to the heavy impact and stumbled backwards. Her eyes were slightly narrowed—it's been too long since her last fight. It wasn't over yet, since Izaya's short blade made its way through the girl's arm as she fell backwards. Her blood splattered on the street. She didn't fall to the ground, as Izaya had caught her limp form.

Both men looked at her, not believing what they had just saw.

**Two years ago**

"See you soon, Ran! We'll miss you!" The girl's friends waved at her as she boarded the train. She waved back with a smile.

The girl had graduated from college when she was twenty, an awfully young age. She was smart, so the school allowed her to graduate faster than the other students. Even so, she was not much of a social person. The girl had no real family; she was adopted by the Ryogo family that was willing to take her in. She appreciated that, and so she lived with them up until now.

Ran left Shibuya after finishing college—she decided to live in Ikebukuro. She had joined online chats since she was young, and met a lot of people from the city. They often told her not to visit Ikebukuro because of the odd things that happened there, but it made her more and more curious. The life she had been living in Shibuya wasn't challenging her at all. She loved challenges, but she wasn't obsessed by them. The perfect fit to live in Ikebukuro—there are dozens of matters there and she would solve them, but she wouldn't want to trigger or make more of it.

And so she left at the age of twenty for Ikebukuro, which was more abnormal than she had imagined.

She passed a restaurant called Russian Sushi and wondered what kind of sushi they had there. She nearly bumped into a foreigner wearing said restaurant's uniform, and he kindly invited her to eat there while handing a flier. She took it and smiled, then left after saying maybe she'll stop by sometime. She observed the people around Mr. Foreigner—they looked like they were scared of him, despite the kind smile on his face. Maybe they thought _the smile_ was scary, she wondered and continued to stroll around the city.

A van was parked not far away, four people surrounding it—three men and a girl. They obviously were friends, since they were busy chatting together. Deciding that they weren't dangerous, Ran approached them to ask for direction. The superior man introduced himself as Kadota Kyohei and he also introduced his friends to her. She analyzed the man for a while. He looked introverted and quiet, even around his friends. Then there were Walker Yumasaki and Erika Karisawa, otakus. One more man was known by the name Saburo Togusa—Kadota told him that he was an excellent driver, while Erika and Walker said he's a big fan of Ruri Hijiribe.

Not wanting to be impolite, Ran introduced herself simply as a college graduate from Shibuya. She showed them a paper, an address written on it. Togusa literally jumped after he read it, while the others merely showed surprise.

"That's quite far," Walker had said with a frown on his face. "It's your apartment address?"

Ran only nodded. Togusa interrupted with a scream: "That's not _quite _far, that's _really_ far!" while Kadota tried to calm his friend down. Ran had told them that it doesn't matter, but Erika replied: "Hey, I know a place where you could live. And it's not too far!" she chirped. Togusa nodded in agreement, stating that it's better for her to stay near the city if she wanted to know it better. Ran had called the former apartment owner that she canceled her purchase, and the old man said that it was okay. So the four of them, Ran as an addition, made their way to her new residential in the van.

At first the girl was a bit worried—are they trying to kidnap her or something? But she knew her instincts well, and they were never wrong. So she decided to brush it off. On their way to the apartment, they had talked a bit, about her life in Shibuya and what they do in Ikebukuro. Erika and Walker told her about the places she should visit in the city. About fifteen minutes later, Togusa stopped the van, announcing that they've arrived. Ran got off the van with her belongings and told them that she was really grateful of them with a smile—she was _really_ thankful that time. Kadota and the others said it was fine, and the two otakus hoped that they would meet again someday. After saying goodbye, the four left.

Ran made her way to her new room and opened it with the key Erika had given her in the van. It was suitable and comfortable, even though it's not really spacious. But Ran had decided it suited her. After unpacking her things and placing them in the appropriate locations, she took a nap for a while.

When she woke up, it was only four in the afternoon. She thought it's best to stroll around the city for a while. If she got lost—well, probably she'll bump into Kadota and co. again.

She didn't exactly know the way, but she followed the road Kadota and his friends took when they escorted her here earlier that day. Ran followed the things that she thought familiar and strolled on. She walked for almost an hour without stopping.

Ran looked at the main road, then the building across it. "Oh," she said. It was the restaurant—Russian Sushi—she passed that afternoon. Feeling slight hunger and fatigue, she decided to try the cuisine there. From afar, she spotted the same foreigner that gave her the brochure. She smiled. Just as she was crossing the road, something unexpected happened.

A blond man pulled out a stop sign near him and held it up, ready to throw it. He was oblivious to Ran's presence, since behind her there was a man he hated the most. Nonetheless, it was Orihara Izaya. The informant broker was coincidentally behind the girl while she was just crossing the road. Aware of what was to come, Izaya grabbed his switchblade and flipped it open—in case something dangerous happens to him, he thought to himself. As Shizuo swung the stop sign in the air, trying to hit Izaya, he realized the presence of a girl in front of the informant, the girl herself was quick to respond.

She wasn't aware of the stop sign at first, due to her over-curiosity about Russian Sushi. But when the blonde man swung it towards her, she snapped into realization. It's too late to dodge, her mind had told her, so her reflexes made her block the attack with her right leg, even though she knew it was impossible. She swung her foot at the flying traffic sign in attempt to kick it back. It did deflect, but Ran herself lost balance from the heavy impact. The man that threw the sign watched in surprise, although his face almost didn't show at all. She stumbled backwards, trying hard to gain back the balance.

It wasn't over yet. Izaya who was holding his knife behind her—also in slight shock—wasn't aware of her condition, and accidentally his knife slashed her upper right arm as she swung backwards. The girl winced in pain—she didn't expect the wound to be _that_ deep. She almost fell, but Izaya caught her. Looking down, she looked at her limp form. Her eyes were closed—did she faint?

Heiwajima Shizuo knew something was wrong from across the road. He witnessed what had happened. He grabbed his cell phone and frantically opened his contact list. Pressing the green 'call' button, he put the phone between his shoulder and his neck and waited impatiently for Kishitani Shinra to answer the phone. He hated to admit it, but he was the closest medic here. Underground medic—he might add. Shizuo dashed across the road and grabbed Ran's body, immediately running towards the young doctor's apartment. He unexpectedly ignored Izaya's presence.

Knowingly, the informant broker smirked. He decided to dig info about the girl later. Turning on his heels with a satisfied heart, Izaya made his way back to his office.

**. . . . .**

Ran woke up with an uneasy feeling. Even though she hadn't accustomed herself with her new apartment, she somehow knew that the ceiling her narrow eyes were staring at wasn't the ceiling of her room. She tried to sit, supporting herself with her right arm. It failed—she lay back with a thump and a mixture of pain and numbness consumed her upper right appendage. She took a glance; the t-shirt was torn, under her shirt she could feel something wrapped against the wound. _Must be a bandage_, she thought. She noticed that her hair wasn't tied in her custom ponytail again. Someone pulled it free. The rest of her attire didn't change, except for her shoes that were taken off.

Trying to ignore the pain in her arm, she looked around the room. She was lying on a couch in an apartment she had never seen before. Looks like she was in a living room. The girl kept wondering where she was, until the sliding door that led to another room opened, revealing a man wearing a lab coat and glasses. He seemed surprised looking at Ran.

"Oh, you woke up already? That was sooner than I expected," he said. Ran slid herself off the blanket and sat properly on the couch. It was his place, she had assumed. "How do you like your tea?" he asked.

She blinked in surprise, before quickly giving an answer. "Oh, I don't need a drink now, thanks," she answered awkwardly. The man pouted. "Come on, I insist!" he said, sitting on the couch across her. She found it hard to counter his words, but then the sliding door opened yet again. This time a person with a yellow helmet and a black riding suit appeared. She froze for a second at the sight of Ran, but then she reached for her PDA and typed:

_"So you're awake. Are you okay?"_

Ran never saw someone like this before. She stared at the person for a while, noting the curves of the person's body, it's a woman. "O-oh, I'm alright now," Ran replied. "The pain is still there, though." She added. She saw the motorcyclist nod slightly and she began to type some more. It said: _"You should rest."_

The injured girl simply nodded to the woman, but her attention got back to the man when he asked her once more, "So, how do you like your tea?"

Ran nearly scowled in annoyance, but she realized the possibility that he was the one who treated her wound—judging by his clothing, he must be a doctor. Not wanting to decline the offer again, and somehow knowing that if she declined he would ask over and over, she told him that she would prefer her tea with sugar. Happy that he got the answer, the man headed towards another room that Ran assumed was the kitchen to make her some tea.

The woman sat beside Ran, and she typed again. The college graduate started to wonder if this woman can't speak. _"That's Kishitani Shinra—he was the one that treated you."_ She showed the screen of her PDA. Ran nodded, but soon she asked. "Excuse me, but… who brought me here?"

She typed in reply. _"Heiwajima Shizuo."_

The girl's eyebrows immediately arched—not in surprise, but in confusion. The woman noticed her reaction, and began to type again. _"You don't know him? You're not from Ikebukuro, are you?"_ Ran nodded once more. "I just moved here earlier today. I'm sorry, this is rude, but… would you mind telling me who you are?" She asked, definitely trying to be as polite as possible.

_"You're definitely not from here. People address me as the Headless Rider, or the Black Rider."_

Ran's eyes widened. Oh, the Headless Rider… her online friend named Tanaka Taro had told her about it. Taro also told her about a super powered man that often lifts things like vending machines and street signs… Street signs? Wasn't it the one that attacked her just now? Who was his name? Ran couldn't recall, and she inwardly cursed herself for forgetting it so easily. She only remembered that the man was proclaimed the strongest man in Ikebukuro. His name is…

Her thoughts vanished when the Headless Rider showed her PDA. _"Actually my name is Celty. What's yours?" _

"Ran Ryogo. It's nice to meet you, Celty-san." She bowed slightly. Celty started to type again, but before she finished, Ran asked her a question. "I'm sorry, but, you really don't have a head?" she questioned—Ran herself didn't recognize the confident girl speaking so boldly. Celty cleared the screen and typed again. _"You want to see? Please don't scream."_

The girl simply nodded, a little anxious of what was to come. Celty put her PDA on her couch and slowly took off her helmet. When the attribute was placed on her lap, the doctor—Shinra—came in with a tray, carrying four cups of warm tea with him. The sight of Celty without her helmet made him pause in his tracks for a while, but he proceeded by setting the cups on the table.

"I'm surprised you're not surprised," he laughed at his own joke, while Ran still stared at Celty's missing part of body, and the odd black smoke emitting from her neck. She nodded and thanked Celty for her sincerity. Then she looked at the table. With one of her eyebrows arched, she questioned:

"Shinra-san… why do you set four cups? There are only three of us—"

Before Ran could finish her sentence, the sliding door opened again. It was a familiar blonde man. Ran recognized him as the one that threw the traffic sign at her. "Awake already? That was fast." He said in his low voice. Ran nodded rather nervously in response. The man took a seat beside Shinra, who sat across Celty and Ran. "Mind if I smoke?" he asked. Almost immediately Ran shook her head, signaling that it was okay.

Shinra leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "So! Since you're better now, we should be telling you a story," he paused, "about what happened to you." The doctor looked at Ran. The girl leaned back on the couch. "It would be great to hear that." She had said.

**. . . . .**

The cups of tea were now empty. Shinra told her about the not-so-good event that occurred to her, and about the names of people, including the man with the knife. At the mention of his name—it was Orihara Izaya—she saw the man that helped her, Shizuo Heiwajima, twitch uncontrollably. Shinra told her that the two were forever enemies, and there's no way anyone could change that. _"In other words: murderous relationship"_, Celty had added.

She could comprehend now. Shizuo was actually trying to finish Izaya once and for all, not realizing she was there. It was an accident—a fatal one, Shinra said. "If you didn't block the sign, you would be injured far worse than you already are now." He informed her. Shizuo mumbled an apology, which Ran responded with a nod.

"By the way, I found a weird mark on your arm, too. Was it an old scar?" Shinra asked.

Ran flinched visibly. She knew what it was, she never told it to anyone except her family. Well, her family knew it without her telling them—they knew it from the one that gave her for them to adopt. She wasn't just a normal child. She was a lab rat. It was a bad memory, even though she didn't remember what happened to her in that hospital, the thought of _her_ being a result of an experiment was horrible.

Everyone seemed to notice her reaction when Shinra mentioned another scar. Should she tell them? She was conflicted. She barely knew them, and lots of her online friends said that not a lot of people can be trusted in Ikebukuro. Everyone looked at her in curiosity, hoping she would tell them her story.

"It's a horrible thing, Shinra-san," she choked out; she didn't even recognize her own voice. "I never told about it to anybody." Ran was looking at her feet, trying to hide her facial expression. Even without her face, Ran could tell that Celty was worried. The Headless Rider typed on her PDA: _"It's okay if you don't want to tell us."_

Somehow her concern lightened up Ran slightly. She gazed out the window. "For a start, I never really knew who my real parents were. Not even their names. I was adopted by the Ryogo family." Shinra, Shizuo, and Celty paid more attention when she said this.

"I only remember a glimpse. And it was painful. But my family had told me everything and I knew since I was a child that I am used for an experiment."

She could see through her peripheral vision that the others were shocked. "There's a hospital in Shibuya—I can't recall its name—that used me as part of their research. It was about human genetics," she paused to take a breath. "They wanted to create a perfect persona, a human that can do anything, have many talents. In order to achieve their goal, they planted various genes in my body when I was a newborn."

Ran's eyes were now half lidded. The memory left a scar that reminded her of what she was.

Meanwhile, Shinra paid special attention to her story.

A/N: That was so very long. Did you enjoy it? Please review. The OC's story will continue in the next chapter. And I need help about the cities Ikebukuro and Shibuya, since I've never been to Japan before, I have difficulties when I try to describe them. Thanks for reading, everybody (that's if anyone's really reading this)! Feedbacks will be loved and appreciated. Anonymous reviews accepted, but no flames allowed. Again, thank you!


	2. The Failed Perfect Persona

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Contains an OC, and pairing undecided.

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: I'm so excited about doing this story. And I need votes—pair the OC with Izaya or Shizuo? Please tell me who you support by reviewing. **Special Thanks** to **animemangafan123**,** Kekat**,** LilKatez94**, and** animenano137003 **for following/putting this story in your Favorites! My first review was from **animemangafan123**. Thank you for reviewing! I'll do my best!

Chapter 2 – The Failed Perfect Persona

The atmosphere grew tense as Ran continued her story. She surprisingly didn't feel uncomfortable, somehow, and she didn't know why she felt that way. She noted that the doctor, Shinra, paid special attention to her story. Doctor's instincts, she assumed. Nonetheless, she resumed.

"I was the only human alive. The other babies didn't make it," she said. Celty gulped down the lump in her throat. _That was such a horrible thing to do…_ She imagined a lab full of cylinders containing many embryos of innocent babies—she didn't have the power to continue imagining. Meanwhile, Ran resumed her story. She told them that she got genes from various people. They actually volunteered for the research. Celty shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

Ran couldn't believe she was telling this to people she hardly knew. They're strangers to her. She was new to the city—she couldn't, by any chance, recognize the names Kishitani Shinra, Celty Sturluson, or Shizuo Heiwajima. Even she couldn't tell her best friends back in Shibuya. Hell, her online chat friends are closer to her compared with these three people!

Oddly enough, she didn't feel anything wrong with it. Clearing her throat silently, she broke the silence in the room.

She recalled what her adopted father had said and retold it to them. "Ironically, the research gained much support from public. But it was still kept secret. No one in the government knew that behind the walls of that hospital there was such a thing. The newspaper and magazines never showed anything related to the illegal activity. It remains a rumor—until now, I guess."

Shinra examined the girl across him intently. Who would think that such a normal looking girl like her was actually a result of an illegal experiment? Miraculously, she survived. He shook his head weakly, and then laid his eyes on Ran once again. She was still gazing out the window. "The scientists got the genes from volunteers. After that they simply dissect my body and plant it in." She murmured. "The volunteers cost their life to sacrifice their genes to me."

"…_unbelievable," _was the word Celty had typed.

Ran couldn't help but think that not only the scientists were freaks, but the volunteers were no different. What were they thinking? What caused them to plan such an insane, horrible thing?"

Shizuo's facial expression hasn't change since she first told her story, but secretly he was holding in his rage. What kind of person would sacrifice a newborn kid to achieve such a foolish goal? That's just crazy!

Ran's next words were far then the listeners have imagined.

"My adopted father told me that the lead scientist was my biological father," she told them.

If Celty had a head, the emotion written on her face would be shock, anger, and sadness. _The world is both a very happy and a very sad place_, she told herself. She examined Ran. The girl looked as normal as any other girl would. She could blend really well in a gray-shaded crowd. Even if she _does _stick out like a sore thumb, it'll be in a good way. And in addition, she looked like she was used to such a saddening fact. She had grown accustomed to it. Obviously it must hurt the time she first knew, but… now, she said it out like it was common sense. _That_ was ironic. Again, the female Dullahan shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Ran was still gazing out the window. Shizuo assumed that she was afraid to meet their gaze. She said that her father was the one that set the goal as he was the leader of the group—to create a flawless human being. The blonde watched without any certain emotion on his face. Still, inside, he's trying hard not to let himself lose control. He observed the girl for the umpteenth time that day. She looked perfectly normal in any angle. Nothing was wrong—she will be a perfect part of people hustling and bustling in a train station, trying to get in the automatically sliding doors. She looks and acts like normal people. She herself _is _normal. _But what they did to her was not normal at all,_ he thought to himself. At last, his face broke into a very deep frown.

"My dad… he collected genes from many people. When I was in middle school, people told me I was perfect as a joke. Of course they didn't know the truth that I was actually _dissected_ to become what I am now," she whispered, her voice getting softer with every word that came out of her lips. "At my school days I got straight A's in almost every subject." She continued. Soon enough, Shinra interrupted. "You said 'almost every'." He reminded. The girl that sat across him nodded, her eyes now closed. Shinra wondered if she was trying to hold back her tears. "My father and his colleagues failed. Not every gene was planted successfully—some of them actually didn't get connected with the brain so they couldn't function. Not only had they failed at that, but…" she trailed off. Shinra didn't know how she felt, but his curiosity made him signal her to continue.

Ran inhaled deeply. "They… failed to understand that everything has its negative effects—or the bad side. They tried to plant not only genes that are related to muscles and nerves, they also tried to plant," she hesitated for a while before going on, "a personality."

"They failed to understand that every personality has its own weakness. A cheerful and outgoing person would usually be popular among the society, but that makes them hated by lots of envious people, too. An introverted, quiet person might not be well-known, but they lead a peaceful life by isolating themselves from the rest of the world." She explained. It was a simple example, the kind that a first or second grader would be able to comprehend. The three listeners were drowned in their own sea of thoughts. Then there was silence.

Celty shook her head slowly, careful not to get seen by the girl sitting beside her. _They even tried to plant her character! That's even worse than what Shingen did to my head in Ireland_, she pondered as her form grimaces. That second she was sure that the people that worked in the lab weren't human. They were _inhuman_.

The wounded girl could feel the tension around her, emitting from Celty, Shinra, and Shizuo, but… she didn't feel burdened or anxious. On the contrary, she felt—dare she say it—peaceful. A secret she had kept from a lot of people, even the people close to her. A secret that made a lot of people approach her to use her 'perfect-ness' to their advantages. A secret that she only shared with the family that adopted her—it was not a secret anymore. These three people in this room—she barely knew them, she met them only about thirty minutes ago but somehow, talking to them made her feel released. Nothing was restraining her. The chains that did were now broken.

Brought back to realization, she stood up from her previous seat, making the others look up at her.

"Thank you for the tea, Shinra-san…" she hesitated. "No, thank you for everything. Celty-san and Shizuo-san too. Um, I should be going. It's nice to meet you all," she bowed to them and walked to the sliding door—her shoes were at the wall beside it. She was trying to put it on, but Celty stopped her.

_"W-wait, at least let me escort you home, Ran-san."_ She had typed on her PDA.

Ran wasn't sure for a second, but then she agreed. The ride on Shooter to her new home was quiet, but to the female graduate, it was rather peaceful. After thanking the Headless Rider for taking her home, she showered, changed, and ended her day with a good night sleep.

That night, instead of dreaming about creepy people working endlessly inside a lab full of embryos, she had a good dream about the family she left at Shibuya, the family that took her in—the Ryogo family.

Meanwhile, Orihara Izaya was busy clicking here and there with his mouse in order to find some information on a girl. The result of five hours researching was disappointing. He only got three points. Well, according to the number, three was indeed disappointing. But quantity doesn't determine quality. The three points were quiet precious, considering he only approves worthy info.

On his computer screen was a text document with the title 'Ran Ryogo' in bold letters. Below the title were numbers one to three.

_Studied at X University, Faculty of Psychology, and graduated with Distinction at age twenty_

_Adopted by the Ryogo family of Shibuya, year 19xx_

_Rumored as a result of experimental research of human genetics._

He smirked as he read point number three. Looking at the wall clock, he noted that it was late. But it didn't matter. He'll ask Yagiri Namie-san about this tomorrow. Double-clicking an icon, he signed in as Kanra in an online chat room, resuming his investigation about Ran Ryogo. He sipped his bitter black coffee—he always had one when he plans to stay up late. And he only stays up late when there's something he wanted to find out badly.

**. . . . .**

**Back to present time**

"You," Shizuo curled his fist, "ARE SUCH AN IDIOT, RAN!" He yelled at the ponytailed girl sitting in front of him.

There they were again, just like two years ago, the four of them sitting together at Shinra's place. The tea was right in front of them too—sweet tea, as Ran Ryogo liked them. Shinra chuckled at Shizuo's tantrum. "But it's really nice to know that you are back, Ran-chan." He said with a smile. Ran nodded after taking a sip of her cup of tea. "Yeah, it is," she replied. "You should've looked at your face when you threw the sign, Shizuo. I tried so hard not to laugh." Ran mocked the blonde with blue-tinted glasses. He snapped back at her. "I really want to throw something right now," he grunted, trying very hard not to lose control. Ran laughed lightly. "Chill up, Shizu-chan," she mocked some more, copying the speaking tone of a certain someone.

Shizuo twitched. "Don't you dare call me that!" he shouted. Ran sipped more of her tea and shrugged.

"By the way," Shinra spoke up, "two years ago you passed out due to anemia—loss of blood from your wound." He explained. Ran nodded in approval. "Why did you pass out again just now? You still got anemia? That's bad news, Ran-chan," Shinra scolded in a worried tone. Ran nearly choked on her tea, but she regained composure and gulped it ethically.

Then she looked at her fellow doctor and said: "I _pretended_ to pass out," she emphasized the verb in her sentence.

Celty turned her head to look at Ran so hard that her neck bone would possibly snap. _"WHAT!" _she typed frantically at her PDA. Ran smiled and nodded with her eyes closed, proud of her good act.

Then again, her acting abilities weren't originally given by the Gods—her father had planted the genes in her body. The thought of it made her eyelids flutter open and she looked at the ground, her green eyes showing no emotion. _Come to think of it,_ she thought to herself, _maybe the person I am now isn't the original me. It could be a result from another person's characteristic plantation_. The thought was saddening, to say the very least. Her not being her real self, not being what she was supposed to be… because her father ruined everything she was meant to be. She leaned back against the fluffy couch as she listened to her friends' chattering.

_"It reminds me," _Celty typed, _"Ran-chan passed out twice, and when that twice happened," _the others noted that Celty hesitated a little before typing her next words. _"Where did Orihara Izaya go?" _

There was a big irk mark on Shizuo's face at the mention of his archenemy's name. _"Because each time this happens," _Celty was addressing Ran-fainted-because-of-a-street-sign event, _"Shizuo-san always came to her rescue and ignored Izaya completely."_ After looking at the typed words on her PDA, Shinra nodded a few times while murmuring 'true, true' then proceeded to thinking with one hand on his chin.

Ran spoke up this time. "He probably ran for his _good_ life's sake," she answered. "Note the sarcasm," the girl quickly added. Shinra nodded more. Shizuo's irk mark grew.

Suddenly the doctor stood up and snapped his fingers. "I know!" he proclaimed. "…but it's a mere assumption," he continued. Ran gestured to the couch. "Please sit down, Shinra," she said while folding her hands in front of her chest. The young doctor pouted and countered: "It's my house! That should be my line," he announced childishly. Ran rolled her eyes. _"Get to the point, Shinra!" _Celty typed.

"It could be…" the Dullahan's boyfriend started. "That Orihara Izaya was actually trying to find some information about you," he said.

Ran suddenly became aware of every word Shinra said. "…Why would he do that?" she questioned darkly, and more to herself. If Orihara Izaya were to find information about her, probably that'd be easy for him. He's a very skilled informant, no doubt, and so he could find out about her a lot in two years time. She wondered—has he found out about her horrible past yet? Ran told herself it didn't matter if he did, but something deep down told her that a person by the name Orihara Izaya was dangerous.

The three other people somehow were aware of Ran's mood change. Shinra, being the one that brought the bad topic up, decided to make it up to Ran. "So, um, are you planning to meet up with Kadota and his friends soon, Ran?" At the mention of the man and his partners, Ran opened her once closed eyes, revealing beautiful green orbs. "Aah, yeah. Maybe this afternoon I'll go with them." She replied lazily, still leaning against the couch.

In Shinjuku, Orihara Izaya was surfing the internet when he suddenly sneezes.

"Geez," he smiled to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose, "someone must be talking about me." He said as he stared into a document in his computer screen, with the title 'Ran Ryogo' still in bold letters. The difference was the numbers have grown during two years—there are two hundred nine points Orihara Izaya had found about the girl by the name Ran Ryogo. At the sight of his praise-worthy result of researching, he smirked. He still wants to find out more about this girl…

A/N: Aah, it was really hard, writing this chapter. And it's shorter than the first too. Really sorry guys. Feedback please? And I need you to vote about the pairing—Ran/Izaya or Ran/Shizuo? Thank you, and please wait for the next chapter

…In case you haven't noticed yet, I took the name Ryogo from the owner of DRRR!, Ryohgo Narita. Hahaha.


	3. Somewhat Coincidental

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Contains an OC, and pairing undecided.

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: I got some reviews! Thank you, **animenano137003**, **LilKatez94**, **animemangafan123**,** LoveIsTruth Flaming Eagle**,** kyocat647**,and **natabee**! I should also thank **info **for giving me the… err, info. Hahaha. I really appreciate your feedback. I'll keep writing, of course! Thank you!

**Notification—Sorry for the inconvenience, but please re-vote your choice in the poll provided (honestly, I don't know where to find it, but I think you could find it in my profile). You can only choose one! **

**Sincerely, grammarsucks.**

Chapter 3 – Somewhat Coincidental

Ran didn't meet up with Kadota and the others when she left Shinra's apartment. She didn't even try to contact them. Instead, she went straight home and turned on her laptop that was already set on her table. It has been a long time indeed since she had logged to the infamous gang's website—Dollars. Typing 'baccano' in the empty column provided for the password, she pressed enter and the homepage appeared. Clicking twice on the chat icon, she signed in to the chat room as Rikawa Rika. At first there's no one else in the room, but soon after a person named Tanaka Taro logged on.

**Tanaka ** : Good afternoon, Rikawa-san.

**Rikawa ** : Afternoon to you too, Taro-san!

**Setton has** **entered the chat room**

**Setton ** : Hello everybody!

**Setton** : Ah, Rikawa-san is here, too.

**Rikawa** : Indeed

**Setton** : Hey, you guys might wanna know this…

**Tanaka** : Know what?

**Setton** : A lady is back in town.

Ran looked intently at Setton's typed words. This person knew that she's back. From the sound of it, Setton seems familiar… She was brought back to reality when Setton typed again.

**Setton** : I saw her this afternoon.

**Rikawa ** : A lady?

**Rikawa** : Who?

**Kanra has entered the chat room**

**Kanra** : Hello everybody~~

**Tanaka** : Afternoon, Kanra-san

**Kanra** : What are you guys talking about?

**Rikawa ** : Yo, Kanra-san.

**Rikawa** : About some lady…

**Rikawa** : Setton-san here brought up the topic

'Rikawa' waited for a few seconds—but somehow it felt like it took longer than that for Setton to reply something in the chat room.

In Shinjuku, Orihara Izaya was observing the residence of the virtual room. Tanaka, he already knew, was Mikado Ryuugamine, the leader of Dollars himself. Mikado also knew that Kanra was the screen name of the black haired informant. He didn't really care of Setton, since he had met the person quite often in the chat room, but…

He paid special attention on Rikawa—Rikawa Rika, the complete screen name of its owner.  
>He knew this 'girl'—he called her a girl because of her alias, but it could be a guy—because he had seen her a few times in chat. She would join for a while, and then would log off, saying that she should go to have lunch or meet up with her friends and such… And that made him wonder. Was she telling the truth? <em>Ah, humans are always interesting after all,<em> he thought as he paid his attention back to the screen.

**Setton** : Don't you guys remember?

**Setton** : Ran Ryogo—she left last year, though

**Tanaka** : Ooh, I recall

**Rikawa ** : You could just mention her name, Setton-san

**Tanaka** : She's really famous

Looking at the screen, Ran couldn't help but feel proud of being famous. But she pushed the feeling down anyways. Then again, it depends on what was she famous at.

**Kanra** : Yeah, famous

**Kanra** : Famous of her passiveness~

**Kanra** : Hahaha!

Ran narrowed her eyes in alert. Who was this guy? Well, she was aware of her… 'passiveness', but she didn't think she was _that_ static. The reason she was attracted to Ikebukuro was the number of matters in the city, and she came here to solve every one of them—not to create more. And she thought that _not _causing problems doesn't mean she's passive! Damn Kanra.

She then remembered two years ago, after her little story-telling event at Shinra's apartment. Since then, color gangs started picking on her because they figured that she could lure Heiwajima Shizuo into their trap—they really misunderstood, because there was nothing going on between the two that time. However, their plans failed, as Ran wasn't the type of girl who wasn't able to protect herself. She got that kind of capability from planted genes though—and that practically made her disgusted.

Since then she was known in town either as Ran Ryogo, or Color-Repellant, since she was able to make the color gangs stay away from her. She didn't enjoy being called by the latter, since it made her sound like a pointless and non-effective chemical product.

**Rikawa** : She's back?

**Setton** : Yes, this afternoon

**Rikawa** : Why would she?

**Tanaka** : I think that question should directly be asked to her, Rikawa-san

**Tanaka** : Though I also wonder why

**Kanra** : She previously lives in Shibuya right?

**Rikawa** : That's what I've heard

**Kanra** : Maybe she's bored there

**Setton** : Really? I've never been to Shibuya before

**Setton** : Is it _that_ boring?

**Rikawa ** : *shrugs* I've never been there too

**Tanaka ** : Me too

**Rikawa** : What about you, Kanra-san?

Izaya smirked as he thought of what should he reply. Ran Ryogo was back in town—he was getting excited of that. He knew of that, alright. Because just today, he had encountered her exactly like two years ago. Izaya started suspecting the girl for doing it purposely, but he decided to think of it later.

**Kanra** : I don't really care though

**Kanra ** : Actually I'm glad she's back in Ikebukuro~

**Kanra** : XD

Ran's eyes narrowed more, the light from her laptop screen reflected in her green orbs, danced around along with the movement of her pupils. Who's Kanra…? Her paranoid mind worked faster than in its usual state. Somehow Ran thought that Kanra was familiar. But she couldn't think of a person she knew that acts like him. Or maybe it wasn't someone she recognizes personally? From the way he acts, interacts, speaks, reacts…

Her green orbs widened as threads of facts were tied together in her brain. Could this 'Kanra' be—?

Izaya's smirk grew as he noticed that Rikawa hasn't replied yet. He decided to test his hypothesis…

A ping sound came from Ran's speakers.

**Private chat request from Kanra**

Without her knowing, Ran's emotionless face broke into a small smirk. She decided to test her hypothesis…

**Private chat request accepted**

**Entering private chat mode**

**Kanra **: Hey, Rikawa-chan~

**Rikawa **: What do you want to talk about?

**Kanra **: Actually, I requested this just so I could get to know you more

**Kanra **: Hehehe~ :3

**Rikawa **: Hm?

**Kanra **: Oh, you must be confused. Sorry

**Kanra **: I seldom see you in the chat room

**Kanra **: Unlike Tanaka and Setton, I don't know you very well, so I'd like to know more about you~

**Kanra **: Ah, just consider this as a sign of our new friendship! :D

'Rikawa' stared at the monitor, but soon she typed back in response.

**Rikawa **: Aah, actually I was thinking the same thing!

**Rikawa **: The reason I approved your request was just exactly the reason why you sent this request

Not replying for a long time might make 'Kanra' suspicious. But she assumed that he already was, judging by who he really was. Or at least, who _she assumed _he really was. Ran thought that her guess might be right. That this Kanra is actually—

'Kanra' stared at the monitor, but soon he typed back in response.

**Kanra **: Really! I'm glad~

Not replying for a long time might make 'Rikawa' suspicious. But he assumed that she already was, judging by who she really was. Or at least, who _he assumed_ she really was. Izaya thought that his guess might be right. That this Rikawa is actually—

**Rikawa **: Well, now that it's settled

**Rikawa **: Should we get back to them and show off our new friendship? :D

**Kanra **: Yes, yes! Indeed we should~!

**Exiting private chat mode**

**Setton **: So…

**Setton **: You two had a good time in private mode…? ;)

**Rikawa **: What the hell, Setton-san!

**Rikawa **: And what's with the wink?

**Rikawa **: *shudders*

**Tanaka **: Hahaha :)

**Tanaka **: You should stop teasing her, Setton-san

**Kanra **: What did we miss?

**Tanaka **: Not much

**Setton **: And not so important too

**Rikawa **: Just spill it

**Setton **: Alright, alright

**Setton **: We were talking about some Korean girl band

**Setton **: Next week they have a performance in Ikebukuro

**Rikawa **: *sweat drops*

**Kanra **: Well, that _is _not important :)

**Kanra **: It seems like Rikawa-chan doesn't like girl bands?

"…He's changing the topic," Ran mumbled to herself. Nonetheless she answered Kanra's question.

**Rikawa **: It's not like I hate them, I just…

**Rikawa **: easily get bored listening to their songs

**Tanaka **: Maybe Rikawa-chan is the kind of person that avoids things most people like?

**Setton **: What about boy bands?

**Kanra **: Hahaha! I bet that's no different to her

**Rikawa **: Kanra-san's right (-_-)

**Rikawa **: They're the same to me

**Tanaka **: Hey guys! I just got this info!

**Kanra **: And that info better be good

**Rikawa **: What about it?

**Tanaka **: There's a new color gang!

Ran began to pay attention more on their conversation as it changes into a more interesting topic. _A new color gang, huh? Like the ones that exist now isn't enough to fill Ikebukuro with crap._

**Rikawa **: Whoa

**Setton **: How did you know?

**Tanaka **: I saw lots of people wearing the same color just now, they're gathering together

**Tanaka **: And have you noticed yet? More Dollars members are leaving.

Mikado didn't lie about that. He only remembered because he thought it was nothing. Mikado witnessed people from every range of age gathering, wearing black in most of their attire. At first he thought they came back from a funeral or something, but he felt something wrong. Just now he found out there are people wearing black trying to steal from a man. Kadota was near the scene, so he came to rescue. It was then he realized that it wasn't just 'nothing'. It was something—it was a color gang. He rushed home and went online.

**Setton **: How can this—?

**Rikawa **: I'll go check the homepage.

With a few clicks, she went back to the page with a counter on the top right corner. The number was 11969, and Ran eyed it curiously, full of anticipation. Five seconds later, there was a small beep from her speakers.

It became 11968.

Green eyes wide, she proceeded to watch the member-counter again. It didn't take too long before three more beeps were heard. The number was 11965. Slowly and surely, members of Dollars were leaving one by one. If this continues, perhaps there will only be a few left. She returned back to the chat room.

**Rikawa **: I can't believe this

**Rikawa **: It is slow, but one by one the members are gone.

**Setton **: This is a serious problem.

Izaya leaned back against his chair. He didn't expect this. Maybe it's connected with the new color gang? He decided to ask Mikado.

**Kanra **: Does this involve the new color gang?

**Tanaka **: Maybe

**Tanaka **: BTW, it's called "Black Hole".

"Black Hole," Ran muttered to herself. A black hole, she knew, is a region of space-time from which nothing can escape. It absorbs all the light that hits the horizon. It _absorbs_. A new idea found, she quickly typed her reply on the keyboard.

**Rikawa **: Maybe this does involve Black Hole.

**Setton **: How?

**Rikawa **: I bet it's not named Black Hole for nothing.

A moment later, Izaya got the idea.

**Kanra **: …oh. You mean, like the name Black Hole, they 'absorb' things?

**Rikawa **: Exactly. Perhaps they attract our members

**Setton **: What about the Yellow Scarves?

**Tanaka **: I'll go ask around. This is a serious matter. Bye.

**Tanaka Taro has left the chat room**

**Setton **: Sorry, I think I should do the same. See you guys later.

**Setton has left the chat room**

Izaya smirked as he felt things got interesting. And about the Yellow Scarves, he told himself that he's got a good information source. _Of course, _he thought. _Masaomi Kida—the leader himself_. The informant's smirk widen, as he told 'Rikawa' that he'll do the same thing and he logged off. Secretly he wondered what 'Rikawa' would do.

**Kanra has left the chat room**

**Rikawa Rika has left the chat room**

Ran was left pondering alone in her room. "Black Hole," she mumbled the name over and over. Giving up, she flipped open her cell phone and scrolled her list of contacts, and stopped when she found the name Kadota Kyohei.

**. . . . .**

"What?" He responded. "How did you know about this?"

"I chatted with a few Dollars members earlier, and one of them informed us about it," Ran replied from the other line.

Kadota's eyes began to narrow. He hesitated for a while before asking: "Did he give you the details?" His answer was a desperate sigh from the girl that called him. "No," she replied weakly. "One thing for sure, you guys keep an eye on people wearing black. The others are probably finding information too." She said again.

That was the best thing to do at the moment, and Kadota sounded his approval. Ending the call, he proceeded to tell his companions about the new-found matter.

Meanwhile, Ran was sitting back in front of her laptop once more, logging in the Dollars website. She was itching for information. Impatiently she signed in the chat room, only to find no one was online.

She sighed in defeat. She wasn't one to wait. Desperately she logged out and lay on her bed, waiting for slumber to take her in. Slumber never came until the sun rose.

A/N: Yes, Ran's in the Dollars. I guess it wasn't a surprise since almost everyone in Ikebukuro is a member. And I'm also not sure about the number of members, so I made it up. Sorry. Votes are always open! Feedback will be loved and appreciated with all my heart ^^


	4. Connection Between

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Contains an OC, and pairing undecided.

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: **animemangafan123b **and **Rina**, thank you so much for reviewing! Well, here's chapter 4. Votes are open—I don't care if you vote on my poll or by reviewing.

Chapter 4 – Connection Between

"Namie-san?" Izaya called out.

The morning was rather peaceful for the infamous broker. It was still six o'clock. He was researching through the internet, trying to find out more about Black Hole. Truthfully, in his opinion, digging Ran Ryogo's amusing past would be more interesting than uncovering the identity of Black Hole. The girl was on top of his amusement list. He encountered her twice, only twice. But maybe he'll meet her more virtually—in the Dollars' chat room. Izaya smirked.

He could spot Yagiri Namie walking towards him from across the room. "What?" she coldly replied.

Izaya put his hand under his chin, thinking. After a while, he asked: "Does the hospitals in Shibuya have connections with Yagiri Pharmaceuticals?" There was something hidden in his tone—Namie noticed it.

"Only one," she quickly answered. "Why?"

_Curiosity has killed so many cats_, Izaya thought. Nonetheless, he countered.

"What's the name of the hospital?"

There was silence for a while, before Namie hesitantly told him that the name was Narita Medical Centre.

The informant leaned back in his office chair, his fingers were busy occupied—they were skillfully typing the letters that formed the name 'Narita Medical Centre' on an internet-based search engine. Namie's eyes narrowed. "What business do you have with them?" she questioned curiously. Izaya's auburn orbs glanced at her form.

He fired back a question. "If they did some research, would they inform the Pharmaceuticals?"

"Why yes," she answered. "They're obliged to."

_They're obliged to; _the head of Yagiri Pharmaceuticals' reply rang in his head. Narita Medical Centre… it could be the hospital that undergone experiments regarding human genetics that involved Ran Ryogo as their lab rat. _Lab rat—that sounds pathetic_, he thought. Ran Ryogo was cunning; he was sure, although he has no strong proof to that. But he trusts his instincts as much as he trusts himself—_wait, that doesn't make any difference, does it? _He chuckled.

Namie looked at him like he was insane. Oh, no, Izaya was insane enough to her.

"What would you do, Namie-san…" he trailed off, "if the Medical Centre didn't report their activities to you?" He grinned in satisfactory when he saw Namie fidget. She was silent.

"Orihara-san," she eventually spoke up in a stern tone. "What did they do? You know something, don't you?" At her last sentence, Izaya quickly replied. "No I don't, Namie-san. Actually I'm still finding out," he said. "Oh, you haven't answered my question yet," this time in a playful tone. Yagiri Namie tried her best to suppress the annoyance-induced scoff. "I'd report them to the police, of course. And it shall be brought to the court." Her answer was in a matter-of-fact tone.

Izaya smiled. _That's the last thing I wanna do if I were you, Namie-san,_ he said mentally. The raven-haired man was brought back to realization when his assistant told him: "If you were to find anything regarding secret activities conducted by Narita Medical Centre, you should inform me, Orihara-san," she said. Izaya smirked.

"But the Yagiri Pharmaceuticals is already merged with—"

"Don't even get started on that," Namie interrupted, and soon she walked away, leaving Izaya with a fake childish pout on his face.

"Now, who's supposed to be the boss here, Namie-san?" he teased.

The woman shifted uncomfortably before proceeding to take care of Izaya's files.

**. . . . . **

Ran's cell phone rang loudly.

She rolled to the other side of her bed, reaching for the gadget. She moaned when she read the writing on the screen: Incoming call from Shinra. With a wrinkled face she answered the phone. "Hello?" came from the other end of the line. "What the hell do you want? It's only seven a.m., dammit! And it's Sunday, too!" she whispered fiercely in reply. "Yow, watch your words, lady. Don't you think there's something important if I call you at this time of the day?" Shinra said.

The girl, still beneath her blanket, froze. Shinra could tell that she realized already, so he got to the point before Ran had the time to curse him again.

"Get yourself ready, Ran. We'll meet at ten in my apartment," he informed.

She quickly remarked. "Whoa, wait. You said 'we'? Who'll be coming—" Before she finished talking, Shinra ended the call. "That ass," she muttered in a low voice. After more cursing, she walked half-heartedly in the bathroom and showered.

Now y'all know that Ran Ryogo is definitely not a morning person.

**. . . . .**

"Okay, I'm here, now what?" She said in an annoyed tone, and plopped herself on Shinra's couch, the doctor himself sat across her. Celty took a seat beside Ran. "Now we wait," he said. Ran groaned. "First you made me wake up early in the morning and now you ask me to wait. You wanna die, Shinra? Because I'll gladly kill you," her face made her look like she's not threatening—she's _willing _to do that. _"You're definitely in a bad mood today, Ran-san,"_ Celty typed on her PDA. "Of course I am. Isn't it obvious?" Ran pointed to her own face as a reply.

The sliding door opened, revealing Shizuo Heiwajima. He was the one that kept Ran waiting.

Shinra noticed his presence and offered him a seat. "So, everyone's here. My job's done," he turned to face Celty. "Now it's your turn to take over from here," he announced before leaving the room, heading to God knows where. Ran stared at Shinra's back as her view was blocked by the closing door. "What was that supposed to mean?" asked the girl. Celty typed as an answer.

_"I asked his help to gather both of you… Actually there are more guests, but I guess Shinra has his own business," _Celty typed. One of Ran's delicate eyebrows arched as she turned to look at Celty, swishing her high ponytail in the process. "Mind telling me who it is, Celty?" she questioned yet again. Celty would sigh if it was possible for her. She learned that no one must disturb Ran when said girl's in a bad mood—just like Shizuo. They would crush you, in different ways. Shizuo's was by _literally_ crushing you, while Ran would crush you with her heartbreaking words. Not just cursing words like _asshole_ or something, it was _absolutely _mental-crushing.

Pondering for a moment, she recalled when someone from the chat room told her about Ran—specifically when the girl fought with one of the boys at school. Celty's virtual friend didn't know what made them fight, and that she only knew about the words Ran last said to the guy:

_"I bet even the Gods_ regret_ creating you and letting you live up until now."_

Now that was harsh, Celty had commented mentally when she first heard the rumor. But when she learned that Ran was actually a result of human genetics experiment, she changed her mind—her spicy words could be from the genes the scientists had planted.

The female Dullahan's train of thoughts eventually vanished, due to the sound of the sliding door opening. In the doorway stood a timid-looking, black haired male, but unknown to the others, the leader of Dollars. Mikado Ryuugamine, she recognized him. Typing on the PDA, she introduced Mikado to the two residents of the room beside herself.

Shizuo was silent the whole time—the only sound he made was a grunt that approves Mikado's "nice to meet you" he had said to both Ran and the street-sign-throwing man. Celty suddenly remembered something, as she began to type more. _"Let me just blurt it out to you, Mikado here is the Dollars' leader." _At this, Ran almost gaped, but she managed to keep her mouth shut. When she did open her mouth, the only word that came out was a mere 'oh'.

_"Shizuo-san and Ran-san are part of the Dollars too, Mikado-kun."_

The boy that had took a seat beside Shizuo looked surprised. "Really?" He had replied. "By the way, it's the first time that I actually met you, Ryogo-san," he added. Ran didn't look surprised.

"M-hmm," said girl remarked. "Now that you have, what do you think about her?" Actually she was just teasing, since the boy looked really vulnerable—not only to her, but also to everyone else as well. She didn't expect that this kind of person would be the administrator of such a famous gang.

Mikado looked confused and flustered at once, he didn't know what to answer. _He's embarrassed, _Ran noted, _it's obvious since his eyes are shifting here and there. _"Uh, I…" he started, but soon trailed off. "You're, um, pretty…?" he answered hesitantly, completely clueless. Ran couldn't help but chuckle—even Shizuo scoffed before his face broke into a smile. This boy is really naïve. The most naïve amongst other boys she had met.

"I'm just joking, Ryuugamine-kun." She said. Upon hearing this, said high school student became even more flustered. Ran's playful smile seemed everlasting in her face. She couldn't believe there's a person as naïve as this Mikado Ryuugamine. _He's the Dollars leader too! God_, her mind kept mentally speaking out her disbelief.

Celty typed on her PDA. _"Now that you guys know each other, let's start our discussion. It's regarding a new color gang_._"_

Ran eyed Celty with her deep green eyes that seemed deeper when its owner was observing something. Something about Celty feels familiar now, and the topic… who told her that? Could it be Shinra? No way, Shinra's not involved in any gang, she believed. Sure, there are rumors, but Celty was not one of the most informative or social person she knew. If not Shinra, then what about Celty herself? Could she be one of the members—no, Yellow Scarves are impossible. Then maybe Dollars?

Something hit Ran's mind. Setton. Chat room. Dollars. Everything's connected. Yes, she now obtained a new conclusion, that Celty Sturluson was actually Setton in the virtual world.

_"It's called the Black Hole," _Celty continued to type. _"And it's gaining members by attracting them from other gangs."_

Mikado Ryuugamine sat there quietly, while Shizuo watched in silence. Both of them knew—besides, people were talking about it. _"What do you know about this new gang?" _Celty questioned. She herself was itching for info, because she got the feel that the group was more dangerous than it seemed.

"Obviously they wear black in at least one of their attire," Ran spoke up, "which could be a threat for all of the non-related Ikebukuro residence." She explained. Mikado and Shizuo looked at her in curiosity, if not in confusion. Celty would react in the same way if not for her missing head. Ran noticed their cluelessness, so she decided to expand her explanation.

Before starting, she cleared her throat slightly. "Many people love the color black. I mean most of the people that work in a corporation or office wears black. I personally like black—and not only me. Punks not involved in gangs, although rare, most of them wear black stuff. A Goth or an emo also wear black right? Even not all of them." She paused to inhale. "Now imagine if the Black Hole grew bigger—bigger than the Dollars. And they were violent and did crimes. The innocent that simply wear black would be blamed from a crime they never did."

"In other words, Black Hole is using people's fondness of black for their advantages—specifically to make them undiscovered." She concluded.

At her last sentence, Shizuo and Mikado's eyes widened, while Celty's body shifted. Ran glanced at the Headless Rider. "Even Celty-san could be suspected because everything related to her is black. Except her helmet, of course," she quickly added.

Now, the Irish Dullahan realized the crucial position she was in. Even if she plans to stop appearing in town, she would still be rumored as a part of Black Hole. Deciding to look at the bright side of the matter, she spoke up. Well, typed up, to be exact. _"What if the Black Hole isn't a color gang?" _

Her question didn't receive any answer. Not even from Ran. Eventually, the brunette shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "We'll have to confirm many things about the Black Hole," she commented as one of her hands raised up to massage her temple. "This sure is confusing." Her words were countered by Mikado. "And dangerous as well," he said. Shizuo Heiwajima only spoke up a low 'yeah' and became silent once more.

Since the event two years ago that caused Izaya, Ran, and Shizuo to meet, the man last mentioned was in friendly terms with Ran Ryogo. Sometimes they would bump each other in Russian Sushi or at random places where Tom would visit to collect debts—and every single time he met her, he would still wonder about her and her past. 'Is the Ran I'm seeing real, or is it just one of the effects of planted genes?' was one of the most frequent silently asked question. It would be pointless to ask her—even she herself wasn't aware of the answer. Checking her body? No way. They should open up her head with a knife to examine her brain. Of course, even idiots know why she wouldn't; she would die—with or without results.

He couldn't help but observe her and wonder every time they meet. Wonder if the 'she' he was looking at was real.

"How are we going to find out about them?" was Mikado's words that brought the blonde back to reality. "As time goes by, rumors will spread. Guess we could find some clue through what people say," Shizuo, unexpectedly by the others, suggested. Ran nodded in approval. "Sometimes time will be included as a factor. I hate to say it, but we should wait and dig info from the people when it's the right time." She commented. Mikado nodded, mimicking Ran's previous gesture. "In the mean time, I'm afraid I don't know how Celty-san should act," added the brunette.

Celty shifted uncomfortably and typed. _"I say let me act as usual," _she typed more that said: _"They'll probably be suspicious if I suddenly disappear_." Shizuo shrugged. "Maybe that's best," said the blonde. Mikado and Ran nodded their head. "As for us, we should always stay alert." Mikado spoke up. "Who knows what would happen. We're clueless right now."

Ran hated the fact that what Mikado said was true. They were clueless—they know nothing. She hated being in a state where she didn't get information. She hated _not_ knowing something. She thought that no one loves ignorance; no one loves lack of knowledge, lack of information. Among waking up early, waiting, and not knowing, she prefer the first to options rather than the last. Ran hated it the most. She _cursed_ it.

_"Do you guys need me to escort you back home?"_

Mikado shook his hand and head at the same time. "No, thank you. I have to go somewhere after this," he answered. Ran decided to tease him again; at least it would lighten up the atmosphere. "Ooh, on a date?" she sneered playfully, making the boy fluster more than before. "N-no!" he stuttered out. Ran's lips pulled out into a smile, while Shizuo reacted like he did before.

_"What about Ran-san?"_

"Since you made me wake up early today, you _should_ bring me home," she turned to face the blonde. "Sorry, Shizuo."

The man in a bartender outfit, despite his real job, nodded rather gruffly, signaling that it was okay.

Finally, all of them left after saying goodbye, while Ran sat behind Celty on her Shooter. The ride wasn't that long, as usual, but there was something different at the end of their journey to Ran's apartment.

From ten meters in front of the building, both Ran and Celty could see that Ran's door to her room was broke open. Celty pulled over the apartment quickly and the two rushed up the stairs to check on Ran's room. When they were in the doorway, they saw Ran's once tidy room was now messed up on purpose. Glass broken, books lying on random places on the floor, even one of the small racks fell down. The room was totally messed. She laid her eyes on her desk—fortunately her laptop survived. Even though she couldn't help but feel alert that maybe whoever that snuck in her house hacked the notebook.

_Normally_, it would be a robbery. But since her laptop wasn't gone, there are two options—one, the thief was stupid. Second, it wasn't a robbery. She chose the latter.

Calling the police, Ran narrowed her eyes, knowing that it would take time to solve this matter. And we all know she hated waiting.

A/N: Whoa. This chapter is long—for me at least. Holiday's over, so I'll probably update slower than I used to. Sorry folks. Keep voting. _The storyline doesn't matter_, just vote for one guy that you like the most, okay? Thank you from the bottom of my heart! ^w^


	5. Bust Your Window

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Contains an OC, and pairing undecided.

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: Votes are still open. Izaya's winning. Look at my poll for further details. I thinks there are, like, 6 votes for Izaya and 4 for Shizuo. The title of this chapter is taken from a song, though I don't quite remember who sang it. Well, still, credit goes to the singer. And thank you **Bree Renee, sophieclaire, Elementless, **and **ILoveReadingAndWriting **for reviewing/following/putting this story in your favorites. Enjoy~

Chapter 5 – Bust Your Window

The police are on their way when Ran closed her flip cell phone. Celty's form emerged behind her. _"Well… where are you gonna live now? The police will seal this place as crime scene,"_ the Dullahan in black stated via her PDA. A sigh came from the brunette before she said, "Do you know any place I could live?" The question made Celty think—but not long until she suggested Ran to stay with her and Shinra. The offer was shot down immediately.  
>"Oh, no thanks," she started. "I don't wanna live under the same roof as the Kishitani family. We don't even know when Shingen is gonna be back." Ran turned around to face her escort. "Any other suggestions?" It made Celty think yet again, only harder this time. Her arms still folded in front of her chest, she answered. <em>"I don't know whether you'll like it or not,"<em> Celty began to type, _"but I think he might not be mad if you crash at his place for some time."_

Ran widened her eyes. "Did you say 'he'? It's a guy?" She could see Celty nod, even if the woman doesn't own a head. _"Don't worry, it's not like he's gonna rape you or something," _The helmeted rider typed again. Ran pushed her further by asking who exactly this person is.

_"Shizuo Heiwajima."_

"You really think he'll be okay with it?" Ran said, quickly countering Celty's words. _"You're friends with him. So what's wrong about it? I'm sure he'll agree after knowing what had happened." _The Dullahan showed her typed words on the PDA. The brunette sighed yet again. Defeated, she agreed. "Let's give it a try," she said. "I don't have many options either."

Again, Ran sat behind Celty on her infamous black engine-less motorcycle, on their way to Shizuo's. Ran packed her things earlier, bringing only necessary and… female goods along with her—and her laptop, most importantly. All this time she's been gathering information through the net. She couldn't imagine how she could gain info without her laptop before her. Sighing, she breathed the slightly humid autumn air.

Fortunately they spotted Shizuo and Tom Tanaka, his employer, walking across the park where Celty chased Harima Mika for a misunderstanding about her head. Just as Celty's Shooter pulled up, Tom said to Shizuo—audible to the two women—that he should call it a day since today's debt-collecting is done. Celty and Ran got off the bike and approached the blonde.

Behind those blue-tinted glasses, they saw Shizuo's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Yo," he simply greeted, still curious. Celty straightforwardly typed on her PDA: _"You live with your brother, right, Shizuo?" _

The man clad in a bartender's outfit nodded. "He rarely comes home—busy shooting," Shizuo added in his usual low tone. Ran stood beside Celty in silence, since she didn't know what to talk about. _"Is there a spare room in your flat?" _The Dullahan questioned again. This time Shizuo shifted his eyes to Ran. He noted that she brought a suitcase along with her.

"What happened to you?" the question was directed to the brunette. "Someone broke into my apartment," she answered simply and truthfully, but still, not in a solemn tone. "Burglar?" he remarked after a few seconds of silence. Ran replied with a short shake of her head. "None of my belongings are gone. I called the police already," once again she spoke. Her eyes are scanning the park since she hadn't been there a lot.

Shizuo turned to Celty and said a rather gruff 'fine'. Celty typed her thanks on the PDA and told Ran that she should follow him home. "Sorry for the inconvenience, Shizuo," Ran said quietly—her heart was still wondering about the event earlier. "No need to be sorry" was the reply that came from said blonde man as they made their way to Shizuo's apartment. The trip was quiet, but not after Shizuo asked her a question. "Any idea about the culprit?" he said. Ran answered with a shake of her head. "No… still thinking," she replied softly.

They resumed walking in silence, both of them sinking themselves in their thoughts. Ran and Shizuo at the same time wondered about the culprit and the reason why would he, or they, did that. Despite her outer features, she felt rather tired that day because of the unpleasant turn of events. And now she should crash at Shizuo's flat. Well, it's not that she disliked him, but still, she hated relying on people. Normal humans depend on each other, but Ran simply didn't enjoy burdening others.

It wasn't a long walk, since they arrived about fifteen minutes later. _The sky is getting darker_, Ran noted after looking at the now deep-orange colored clouds. She couldn't wait to call it a day—it sure was tiring, at least for her. Her shiny green eyes were half-lidded. Shizuo took a silver key from his pocket and inserted it inside its respective hole, enabling them access to his apartment. "It's not much," the blonde said quietly. "I don't really care," a tired Ran answered. Not saying anything more, the two entered. Shizuo was the one who closed the door.

Surprisingly, the well-known actor Yuuhei Hanejima—or by the real name Kasuka Heiwajima was there in the living room, packing some stuff. Ran was aware that the blonde and this film-star were brothers since she was in friendly terms with the older sibling, so she didn't react in surprise. Nonetheless, she'd never met him before. And she knew he rarely came home. Shizuo looked a little bit shocked as well. "Kasuka?" he called out.

"Ah, Nii-san," the younger sibling turned his head to get a better view. "Who's this?" he asked politely after looking at Ran. The brunette then introduced herself as Shizuo's acquaintance, and that she came to live here for a while since what happened earlier.

Kasuka looked surprised to find that Shizuo, his super-powered brother, actually had a friend. A female one, in this case. Well, considering that she was permitted to stay at their place for a while, Kasuka knew that they're not mere acquaintances. Good friends might be the proper term. He politely introduced himself as well, although deep down, he knew that this girl at least saw him once or twice in an advertisement or in the movies.

Ran was quiet tired, but she let a 'nice to meet you' slip off her lips. "By the way, Shizuo…" she turned around to talk to the blonde friend of hers. "Where can I set my things?"

Shizuo thought for a while. "Uh, I'll sleep on the couch. You take my room," he answered, trying to be a gentleman. "No way," she refused head-on. "_I'll_ go sleep on the couch instead of you. You sleep in your own room," Ran added again. Taking off his blue-tinted glasses, the man in the bartender outfit grunted in disapproval.

"Ryogo-san could sleep in my room. I'll be away for work for some time, anyways."

"No, there's no need for that, Kasuka-san!"

It was quiet.

**. . . . .**

"Let's just do jan-ken-pon*," Ran suggested, breaking the seemingly everlasting silence. Shizuo looked at her with one eyebrow arched.

"Since I don't want both of you to sleep on the couch and you keep insisting that I should sleep in your room, let's just sleep together."

It sounded so lame. And dirty, even to Ran herself. Really, it was so lame. But still, she didn't want these two to sleep on the couch. She _would _but they rejected. She didn't want to be a nuisance. So the way out is for both parties to sleep inside the room. And that's the only thing Ran could come up with—and it's lame, too. Still, it was the only way. Ran sighed, knowing what were the boys thinking.

"Crazy, I know. But it's the only fair thing. I want you to sleep in your room, and you want me to sleep in your room." She folded her arms in front of her chest. "Now Kasuka-san and Shizuo play jan-ken-pon. I sleep with the winner," she instructed. Her cheeks became slightly pink-tinted when she realized that her sentence has a bad connotation in it. Brushing the blush off her face, she watched as the two—rather reluctantly, she might add—played the game of jan-ken-pon.

Shizuo won. It was rock against paper.

The blonde man looked at his opened hand, symbolizing paper, in shock. He actually won, which means…

Ran looked at the blonde man's open hand, symbolizing paper, in shock. He actually won, which means…

**. . . . .**

It wasn't that hard for Ran to acknowledge the flat. The place wasn't that big, so she found no difficulty in memorizing where important places are. Well, she'll be staying here for awhile anyways. It's actually only a matter of time until she could remember the rooms in the apartment. Her eyelids were heavy, covering half of the beautiful green eyes she possessed. Changing her attire in the bathroom, she went straight to bed, leaving Heiwajima Shizuo—her new roommate—alone in the living room with a cup of coffee in one hand and the daily newspaper in another.

"I'm going to sleep," she notified and entered the blonde's room. Shizuo didn't reply as he was sipping the black coffee, but Ran knew he listened. Closing the door shut, she turned off the lights and lay on the queen-sized bed, snuggling herself beneath the sheets. Not five minutes later, she fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Shizuo was still sitting on the couch—not until his cell phone rang. The call was identified by the gadget as 'Tom-san'. _Might be a job_, Shizuo thought to himself. He picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Shizuo-kun, sorry for the inconvenience," Tom's voice was heard.

"What's the matter?"

"It turned out that I got a new job tonight. Let's meet up as usual."

"Right," he replied.

"Oh, and that's not all."

"Huh?"

"It seems like this has something to do with color gang."

"A color gang…?"

"Something called 'Black Hole'. People are buzzing about them these days," Tom explained.

"Okay." With a beep, the call ended.

Shizuo Heiwajima made sure that he got lots of worthy information that flea can't obtain tonight while doing his job at the same time. A person like him wouldn't miss any opportunity given. Glancing at the closed door to his room, he left a sleeping Ran alone in the apartment, with Kasuka away. Gulping down the rest of his coffee, he shoved the newspaper away and headed to the door, locking it from outside. Then he made his way to Tom's place.

**. . . . .**

"Pay up, will ya?" Tom lazily asked the man wearing an old black jacket that was standing in front of him. Shizuo began to step forward in his usual intimidating way, a cigarette between his lips. Looking at the blond man's tall form, Shizuo's next victim shivered at the sight of him. He could see beads of sweat running down the man's pale face. Shizuo stepped forward, as the man before him did the opposite.

They were in a dark alley somewhere still in Ikebukuro. It was late, but the streets were not that quiet. Still, no one cared about what the other was up to in a big city like here. Tom and Shizuo were only doing their job, anyways. As the bartender-clad bodyguard took another step forward, the man bumped into a dead end of the alley. Not forgetting a moment about Tom's words on the phone earlier, Shizuo took this opportunity to ask.

"What do you know about the Black Hole," he started, "punk?" The cigarette was spit off his mouth, and Shizuo stepped on it, his eyes narrower than usual.

The black-clad man—although not in all of his attire—started to panic. It was obvious since he tried to avoid eye contact with the blonde man, but finally he stuttered out: "I-I-I don't know anything! Please…!"

Shizuo took off his blue-tinted glasses, forcing the dilating pupils of his next victim to meet his directly. "Don't make me force you," he grunted out threateningly. The punk gulped—everyone knew that Shizuo Heiwajima was the strongest man in the district. Hell, he threw almost everything. Stop signs, street signs, fridge, vending machine—you name it. The punk wished he could take another step back, but his back was already flat against the brick wall. Nonetheless, he tried desperately to completely flatten himself against the wall behind him.

The blonde man in front of him was ready for action—he could tell since he took out his hand from his pants' pocket. Cracking his knuckles, Shizuo said out from between his teeth, emphasizing the rage.

"I'll force it out for you, then."

"N-No… please! I'll tell you anything!"

_Weak humans_, Izaya thought as he watched the scene from the building above, binoculars equipped. The informant sighed and grinned as usual. "This time Shizu-chan is actually helping me! Oh, no…" he murmured to himself softly, but still in a dangerous way. "It's actually more like I'm using him. Tsk, poor Shizu-chan~"

Orihara Izaya faked a childish pout on his face, before it vanished and replaced by a devilish smirk. He continued to observe the humans beneath him with his trademark binocular. He was actually enjoying this—while hoping he'll not get noticed by Shizuo.

"T-They used me! That money I borrowed wasn't for me!" the punk screamed, his hands waving frantically in front of his face. Shizuo stepped forward, despite the fact that the punk couldn't take another step back. "Then… what was that money for?" His low voice intimidated the man more. He gulped audibly before answering. "T-They bought an empty warehouse near the outskirts… m-maybe it's for a hide-out or s-something," his lips trembled while saying this.

Tom looked at Shizuo's back. He didn't really care about the blonde trying to interrogate this punk. What he really cared of was why Shizuo wanted information badly from debtor. What happened, Tom wondered. _Whatever did, Shizuo certainly suspects the Black Hole as the culprit_, Tom concluded mentally. His mind was brought back to reality when Shizuo got on his punching stances.

The punk panicked more. "But I told you everything alrea—"

His words were cut off since a punch flew right to his face. Shizuo looked at the man's limp form, lying on the ground weakly, while the man himself was groaning because of the amazing pain he felt. If he survived this, the punk thought, he would write this on his phone and set the note as wallpaper:

_10__th__ September 20xx, I got punched by Heiwajima Shizuo._

"You still haven't paid," said man replied at the punk's earlier words as he dug his pocket and took out a cigarette from its pack. Lighting the tobacco up, he turned around and faced Tom. "Our job done here?" he asked rather gruffly. Tom nodded and shared a glance with the beaten-up punk before they left the scene. Unbeknownst to them, Izaya Orihara, the Shinjuku-based informant watched the whole event with the usual dangerous smirk plastered on his face.

Taking the binocular off, the now revealed auburn eyes looked at the sky. "If the war between three parties wasn't enough to awaken Celty, then I'll make it four," he mumbled, still smiling. Deciding that it was enough for the day, the raven-haired man made his way back.

A/N: Ooooh, yeah, I'm done baby! It was tiring and hard to write. Please tell me if I did bad… I'll try to remake this chapter if it does suck (-_-) Votes are always open. I count from both reviews and the polls. Unique voters are welcome. Please review too~


	6. Discovery Channel

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Contains an OC, and pairing undecided.

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: Thanks to **StormKiller, ILoveReadingAndWriting, YAYFORCHOCOLATE, **and **Elementless **for reviewing/following/putting this story in your favorites.

Chapter 6 – Discovery Channel

The sun was shining sickeningly bright. No wonder, it was Ikebukuro in the afternoon. Ran walked across the street and was on her way back to Shizuo's apartment after some questioning with the police—as the victim, of course. Her apartment was officially sealed by the authorities as the crime scene and they told her that they were undergoing investigations that time. Sure, Ran wouldn't buy that, at least not now.

When she woke up this morning she realized that Shizuo wasn't home. She was alone in his apartment, since Kasuka left the night she came to do his usual work. Nonetheless, she exited the apartment with the silver key she happened to find lying on the table. It was Shizuo's—maybe he purposely left it there in case she decided to go out. _How thoughtful of him_, her mind murmured.

Streets were busy as usual. People hustling and bustling, trying to finish their unwanted business. This is the ordinary life in a big city. But it's never ordinary for her, since she found _herself_ unordinary. Maybe she'll do some research tonight, as well as checking out the Dollars' website. It's been days since she last opened it, and lots of things might happen during that time. Increasing her walking pace, she shortened the amount of time needed to reach Shizuo's apartment.

**. . . . .**

Today Izaya surprisingly woke up late. Not _that_ late for usual people, but it was quiet late for him since he always starts working early. The raven-haired male was already in front of his computer, fingers skimming on the keyboard. The web browser was ready; now, which site shall he open first today? His slim long fingers tapped the keyboard lightly, careful not to press it. "How's Dollars today?" he whispered to himself, auburn eyes plastered on the monitor.

**You are successfully logged in.**

** Kanra has entered the chat room**

** Kanra :** Aye… Nobody's here yet?

She got home earlier than she herself had expected. In a rather hurried way, Ran booted her laptop on and quickly signed in as Rikawa Rika, her online chat screen name. Glancing at the member counter at the homepage, she spotted the number 11924. As she suspected, it's decreasing. Should she warn Mikado about this? No, perhaps he was inspecting the number decreases all the time—he's the sole leader, after all.

**You are successfully logged in.**

** Rikawa Rika has entered the chat room**

Ran spotted Kanra's name—or as she had suspected, Izaya—on the list of online members. She sighed, but her eyes narrowed. "What is he doing here?" she muttered to herself. Trying to act as oblivious as possible, she started to type on her keyboard.

Izaya spotted Rikawa's name—or as he had suspected, Ran—on the list of online members. He smirked in a victorious way. "Today must be my lucky day, right~?" he said to himself in a sing-song tone. Trying to act as oblivious as possible, he started to type on his keyboard. It turns out that Ran's shout-out came first.

**Rikawa **: Kanra-san, good afternoon

**Kanra **: Yo~

**Kanra **: Afternoon to you to, Rikawa-chan :)

**Rikawa **: Have you noticed?

Immediately Izaya knew what she was talking about—it was the member counter on the Dollars' homepage. "So she _did_ keep an eye on the counter," Orihara Izaya murmured. It wasn't long until once again his face broke into a smirk.

**Rikawa **: The member counter, I mean

**Kanra **: Ooh, you noticed too?

**Kanra **: It's decreasing, you know

**Tanaka Taro has entered the chat room**

**Tanaka **: Afternoon everyone! :D

**Rikawa **: Hi

**Kanra **: Yo, Taro-kun~

**Rikawa **: Did you check out the member counter, Taro-san?

**Tanaka **: Yeah

**Kanra **: Bad news for our leader huh?

**Rikawa **: Not only for our leader…

Mikado gulped as he read Rikawa's shout-out, or more precisely, Ran's shout-out. From the day they first met at Shinra's flat, Mikado knew that Ran was actually Rikawa virtually, and considering that Celty said she was in the Dollars' too, he assumed that he was right. Secretly he wondered for awhile—did the girl recognize him the way he did? Maybe she did, knowing that Ran Ryogo was one of the most analytical people he met. She graduated with distinction in Psychology, after all.

He realized that even though the members were slowly decreasing, that's still a great threat for Dollars. The only thing he could think of was to annihilate the Black Hole in the core. But just as Ran Ryogo-san had told him and Shizuo last time they met up, the new color gang took advantage of people's fondness of black. It's tough enough to uncover the real members, not to mention their boss. He sighed as his expression grew solemn, the dim lighting in his room only accentuating his face.

**Tanaka **: It's really dangerous guys

**Rikawa **: We realize that.

**Setton has entered the chat room**

**Setton **: Afternoon guys :)

**Setton **: What did I miss?

**Kanra **: Setton-san~

**Kanra **: We were talking about the Dollars' members

**Rikawa **: They're decreasing.

**Tanaka **: You should check the counter, Setton-san.

**Setton **: Oh, right!

Ran looked at the screen name 'Setton'. The person really sounded like Celty—her assumption was right, apparently. She blinked when a ping sounded from her two mini-speakers. A message appeared on the screen, blurring the rest of the screen to focus on the message.

**Private chat request from Kanra**

**Private chat request accepted**

**Entering private chat mode**

The informant broker smirked for the umpteenth time that day. He considered he was really lucky. Mentally Izaya wondered if Ran was as cunning as he was. But still, he loved humans and desired to see their reactions towards something they seldom experience. He resumed using his slim fingers to type on the keyboard.

**Kanra **: I was afraid you would reject, Rikawa-chan~!

**Rikawa **: I wouldn't dare, Kanra-san.

**Kanra **: Hahaha, Rikawa-chan's a good girl

**Kanra **: x)

**Rikawa **: Ugh *disgusted face*

**Rikawa **: Stop that, Kanra-san.

**Kanra **: Hahaha!

**Rikawa **: Stop laughing!

**Kanra **: It's just so funny

**Rikawa **: What's so funny?

**Kanra **: That you're actually Ran Ryogo-chan~

"Got you," she whispered to herself in her lowest tone. She expected him to torment her in his trademark way, so it was no surprise at all to her. She was ready. Typing quickly, she typed her reply before Kanra had time to log out to make sure he read it. She smirked as the 'enter' button was pressed. Izaya Orihara wouldn't have expected a counter.

**Rikawa **: It was nice talking to you

**Rikawa **: Izaya Orihara-san.

Izaya's auburn eyes widened, but not much. He suspected this coming, anyways. _Humans are always interesting, as usual,_ he thought to himself. At least the girl wasn't a threat to him—not yet, he might add. He was merely finding out about her past, that even Ran herself wasn't aware of. It was actually helping her in one way or another.

**Kanra **: We should log out, you know

**Rikawa **: I'm not stupid, Kanra-san.

The twenty-two year old girl replied quickly, calling Izaya by his screen name. She was aware that Izaya would either reply the message or log out of the site. However she was rather startled when he chose to reply the chat. It didn't matter to her anyway. Not bothering to reply, she exited the private chat mode and went back to the usual.

**Tanaka **: Rikawa-san's back.

**Setton **: Welcome back!

**Rikawa **: Not for long though

**Rikawa **: I haven't eaten lunch… (-_-)

**Setton **: O_O

**Tanaka **: But—it's like three in the afternoon, Rikawa-san!

**Kanra **: Rikawa-chan~ you should go and eat

**Rikawa **: Yeah, yeah, I know.

**Rikawa **: I'll catch up next time. Sorry you guys.

**Rikawa has logged off**

It was obviously a lie. She ate some junk and instant noodles about an hour ago—back when she was in high school she was well known for her extremely small stomach. They said that since she got full real quick. Glancing at the clock, she noted that what her online chat friend had said was true. It was three o'clock. _Time sure does go by fast,_ she thought to herself.

The fact that she hadn't visit Kadota Kyohei and co. lately appeared on her mind. Since she was free that day, she got up and changed into a grey tee and shorts, getting ready to meet up with her old friends. She typed a message through her cell while putting on her black gladiator sandals.

"_Let's meet up?_"

Pressing the 'send' button, she opened the door with Shizuo's key and headed out to wherever Kadota and his friends were.

**. . . . .**

The five of them were near Russian Sushi, and thus they decided to eat there together. Sitting beside Walker and Erika, Ran began to ask the group questions regarding the new color gang, Black Hole. It seemed like they were more like listening to rumors than researching, which Ran didn't like very much.

Her first question was: "Have you got any leads?" and the answer directly given by Walker was: "Leads? What leads?" Ran's next action was face-palming herself and shook her head weakly. "You guys didn't find out anything?" she weakly asked. Walker looked like he was pondering for a while, with Erika continuously sighing beside him, muttering something in the lines 'Walker, you are stupid' and such.

"Nothing seemed important," Kadota spoke up. It was Ran's turn to sigh. "Give me an example." The brunette replied in her usual stern tone, green eyes narrowing.

Kadota nearly smirked when she said this. "You live with Shizuo now, right? Go ask him," he said. Ran couldn't miss the hint he was giving. "What do you mean? Did he tell you the 'unimportant' thing you mentioned earlier?" she pushed further.

_Damn, psychology-graduates really can't be fooled_, the man mused. Togusa snickered beside him when he saw the secretly annoyed look of their sort-of group leader. "Just ask him… I'm really not in the mood now to explain." He put a seaweed sushi inside his mouth and chewed. Smirking slightly, Ran countered. "Am I the one that caused you grumpy, Dotachin?" she said in a teasing tone and dug the sushi in as well. Erika and Walker giggled, but soon they started eating too.

"When did he tell you?" Ran questioned again when it grew quieter.

"Just today," was the short answer Kadota said.

Ran sighed. "Tell you the truth, I haven't met him since this morning, either." She swallowed. "Lucky he left his key in the house," continued the ponytailed girl. "That guy looks like he's always busy." Erika murmured, pausing a few seconds before saying her next words. "Either busy beating up debtors or busy picking a fight with Orihara Izaya." Togusa nodded at this and mentioned his own comment. "Whenever that guy's in Ikebukuro, one stop sign will be pulled out of its respectful place," he said in a low tone, picturing Shizuo swinging abnormally heavy objects and throwing it around in order to get rid of his archenemy forever.

In response, everyone nodded. "Well, I'll make sure I ask him later," the brunette spoke up. After finishing her food and chatting for a while with the others quietly, they parted. Well, not before Togusa dragged the girl into the van, insisting that they would give her a ride back home.

Pulling over in front of the modest apartment, Ran got of the vehicle and thanked the gang for escorting her back, and headed to Shizuo's door while expecting its owner to be home early. She'll have to interrogate him tonight, like it or not. Unexpectedly, said man was home early. Ran's green eyes couldn't help but widen the slightest bit. "You're back already?" she asked with a tone of uncertainty in her voice.

"Anything wrong with that?" was the reply from Shizuo. "No," she remarked. "It's unusual, that is." The man grunted, but not from anger. He was sitting on the couch drinking coffee while reading the news, just like yesterday. She decided that it's time to question the blonde.

Positioning herself beside him on the couch, the girl faced Shizuo, but he didn't seem to notice. "I heard from a birdie that you've got information on the Black Hole," she said with an annoyed face. At this, Shizuo put down both his coffee cup and the paper. The man grunted in approval. "Please elaborate on this," Ran remarked, eyeing the blonde bodyguard intently with deep green eyes. She was on alert.

Inhaling for a bit, Shizuo started to do what Ran asked him to. "There was a job last night that suddenly came up, so Tom and I were out late," he began in his usual rather-gruff-and-low tone, his eyes gazing in front. Ran kept watching him as he talked—it was a usual nature for psychology-graduates to observe a person as he or she was speaking to find out was the person lying or not.

"The man borrowed a good sum of money and hasn't returned it up until now." Shizuo said. "After some info-digging, we found out that he was used—he said so—by the Black Hole to borrow money, as the gang used it to buy and old warehouse in the outskirts." Ran nodded. "You don't know much about this guy?" she questioned again, now one of her eyebrows arched.

Letting the back of his head rest against the couch, Shizuo gazed into the ceiling and replied Ran's words. "No. All I know was he's also part of the gang," he informed her. Again, the brunette nodded. There was a moment of silence.

Ran got up from the couch and headed to Shizuo's room after saying: "Next time you got something, tell me about it." The blonde nodded while picking up his coffee and gulping the last drop of it, and resumed his activities before Ran came home.

**. . . . .**

Izaya was playing with his cell phone while going through the list of contacts. "There you are," he murmured to himself as the informant broker found what he was looking for. "Masaomi Kida." Pressing the green button to call, he put the phone between his ear and his shoulder, since his two hands were busy typing on the computer keyboard.

Meanwhile, somewhere far and out of Ikebukuro, Kida was alone in the men's restroom while his girlfriend Saki in the ladies' room—it was then his cell phone rang. The blonde boy's eyes narrowed dangerously as he read the name written on the screen, "Izaya Orihara." The man that had made him rely too much, and thus had led him to a fatal mistake. Izaya Orihara, the man from his past that he'd sworn not to trust again. His mind was conflicted as the ringtone kept playing—should he answer, or should he not?

_No, _Kida thought to himself, but he didn't press the red button on his phone since it would make Izaya suspicious. He decided to let it be. Walking out of the restroom with the phone still ringing, which annoyed him, Kida was lost in thought. Why would Izaya call him? What did he want? Was it wrong not to pick up the phone? _Damn, why am I so curious? _Cursing himself, he waited for Saki to come out of the restroom.

It didn't surprise Izaya that Kida didn't answer the call. He kind of expected it, anyway. "Probably busy with Saki," the auburn-eyed mastermind whispered to himself.

"Namie-san," he called out to the ex-head of Yagiri Pharmaceuticals. It was answered with a heavy and tired sigh from the long-haired woman. "What is it?" she replied rather reluctantly. "Could you take care of things here for a while?" he asked her. One of Namie's eyebrows shot up. "Why?"

Izaya Orihara smirked. "I'm going on a field trip to do some research," he answered cheerfully.

"Field trip?" Namie nearly scoffed since he sounded like a psyched high school student, but she managed to press it down. "Where?"

There was a devious smirk on the informant's face before he replied: "To Shibuya—Narita Medical Centre."

A/N: It's really tiring doing this story. But it's fun—I hope you like reading it too. Any constructive criticism accepted, but still… no flames. If you spot any spelling or grammatical mistakes, please tell me, I'll try not to repeat it next time. Don't forget to vote on the poll or review here. Just click this cute tiny button below :3


	7. Point of View

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Contains an OC, and pairing undecided.

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: Sorry for the slow updates. Thanks so much to **Flaming Eagle**, **lunatarimoon**, **TheBeginningsEnd**, and **rnn21** for following/reviewing/putting this story in your list of favorites. Izaya is actually winning! Votes are still open; please review or go to my poll to vote.

Chapter 7 – Point of View

The day Ran met up with Kadota Kyohei and his colleagues, Shizuo was walking with Tom Tanaka as usual while said girl headed to the police office to be questioned. Looking around, he saw through his shaded glasses people wearing black. Then the brunette's words rang inside his mind—the ones she said when he, Mikado, and Celty sat together in Shinra's apartment. The words:

_"Black Hole is using people's fondness of black to make them undiscovered."_

Hell, if their custom color wasn't black, he would punch them in the gut with them easily spotted. Being unable to do so made him sick and annoyed, since—just as Ran had said—it was hard to sort the non-members away from the real members out there. He hated to admit that he couldn't do anything at the moment. _Come to think of it, if we can't do anything now, the future will be much more messed up than the present,_ he mused. Reaching for the cigarette pack inside his pants pocket, he took one out and lighted it up. He always had one before doing his job every day.

The next few hours were spent by Tom and Shizuo with the usual—either beating up debtors who won't pay or scare their asses off. It was until he spotted Kadota walking alone on the street across him, this time not with his group. Tom looked at his watch and told his blonde partner that the rounds for that day were over, and that he was going to head back home. Shizuo nodded in response.

Kadota, or sometimes called Dotachin—and he hated being called by that a lot—went to the same academy as he, Shinra, and that flea did. They were in Raijin together. Shizuo didn't know much about Kadota, but he was sure this guy was trustworthy. Once or twice, he remembered spotting Mikado talking with the introverted man. That made him wonder, was Kadota part of the Dollars too? Shizuo really couldn't tell, the answer was perfectly stuck between yes or no. He blew the smoke of his cigarette.

Somehow Kadota spotted Shizuo from the opposite side of the road and the traffic light turned red. The heavily-dressed man crossed the street, approaching Shizuo. "Yo," he greeted casually once they were not too far apart. The blonde clad in his usual bartender outfit returned the greeting in a similar way. "Seems like you're not busy," Kadota said.

"Yeah," Shizuo grunted lowly in reply. "Things are starting to cool down for a bit." Kadota nodded at this, but his next words were contrast to the approving gesture. "Black Hole is starting to stir things up," he said. The eyes hidden beneath blue-tinted glasses didn't change, instead they showed slight surprise. _Kadota stays up to date_, his mind noted. "Ran told you that?" he asked the jacketed man, putting his hands back into his pants pocket. As a reply, he shrugged. "I think so, too," Kadota answered.

Shizuo was silent for a while to inhale his cigarette. Not long after, he remarked. "Black Hole, huh… Please, like Ikebukuro isn't enough loaded with color gang crap already." Kadota scoffed at this, silently agreeing with the statement his acquaintance had just said out loud. "I heard they're getting more members." Kadota added shortly after. This was also agreed by the blonde man.

Tucking his hands into the pockets of his jacket, Kadota looked around him, while Shizuo observed every move he made. The streets were crowded with people, most of them wearing black. It's still unclear whether they were members or not. The two men didn't have a clue about how to find out their true identities—the members _and_ the sole leader of the Black Hole. Both time and energy would be wasted, but Shizuo and Kadota felt that it would be best to ignore those two aspects rather than standing idle by, not doing anything.

Glancing to the sky through his tinted glasses, Shizuo noted that it was almost dark. Feeling rather tired, mostly annoyed, he decided to head back to his apartment. "Well, I'm going," he announced to his companion for the last ten minutes or so. Apparently before he left, Shizuo said more to Kadota. "By the way," he started from over his shoulder, "I was told that the Black Hole bought a warehouse near the outskirts. You should check it out sometime." With that, the blonde man walked down the streets, making his way back home. Kadota watched Shizuo's back as it slowly disappeared.

He heard his phone beep a few times; he recognized the alert as a message.

_"Let's meet up?"_

Typing swiftly on the cell phone, he replied the text from Ran and tucked it back into his pocket.

**. . . . .**

It was morning; and Ran hates them. This time, however, she ignored the clock that showed the fact she got early and headed right to the shower. Ran was surprised that Shizuo wasn't awake yet—found him lying next to her on the other side of the bed with his back facing her. The brunette didn't forget the fact that it was Shizuo's room, so technically he would be sleeping there, although she did wonder why he chose to sleep there with her rather than on the couch.

That morning was her first time looking at him with clothes other than those bartender outfits Kasuka gave the blonde. The silly, unnecessarily needed blue-tinted glasses were lying on the small desk beside the bed, along with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Well, he's just like any other person. Changing into her everyday clothes that consist of a simple black T-shirt and a pair of boy shorts—in the shower, of course, she decided that today she would stay at home.

Not because she was bored of strolling around Ikebukuro. Ran had decided last night that she would do some research today; and not just any research. It was a research about herself—her past to be exact.

She realized that she was oblivious of the things that happened to her when she was still a newborn. Up until now she didn't know which hospital that conducted the research. Ran was only aware that the hospital was located in Shibuya. Then and there she decided to call her family that lived there. Grabbing her cell on the table located in the living room, she flipped it open and pressed the number 1 speed dial.

"Hello?"

"Dad," she said slowly, and suddenly she realized the time. It was only six in the morning. "It's me. Did I wake you?"

Her adopted father sighed in relief. "Not at all—I was about to take a shower. The others just woke up too," he answered. "We missed you, Ran. What is it? Is something the matter?" The man asked in a concerned tone. No one would call this early in the morning if not for an urgent matter. In addition, he was aware that Ran wasn't an early bird. He wondered what made her call him.

Ran shook her head unintentionally. "No, it's nothing. Just wanted to ask you something, Dad," replied the girl, the cell phone was between her shoulder and her ear since both of her slim hands were working on a coffee cup. "I see. So what's bugging you?" asked the man from the end of the line. He positioned himself on a chair while waiting for his adopted daughter to answer his question.

"I just wanted to ask," she paused after placing the white mug on the table, and then she sat on the couch. "What was the name of the hospital that did a research on me?"

Soft, teal eyes widened unbeknownst to Ran. Her father seemed astonished, but it didn't last long. Before answering, he sighed. "You… still can't forget? Maybe it was wrong for me to tell you the whole thing. You were only ten after all," he whispered weakly. Ran's eyes were half-lidded; her father sounding like that really made her worry.

Ran was silent as she thought about what she should say as a reply. "I'm not intending to get my revenge." She said softly to her father. There was no answer from said man, and she took it as a sign to continue. "What I am planning is to do the right thing. And that is to find out who did this to me," she absent-mindedly curled her own free hand into a fist.

Ryogaki Ryogo sighed; it was audible to his daughter from the phone. He wanted Ran to live like everyone else would, and he thought that with Ran knowing the truth, then it was impossible to do so. Live like everyone else would? He could imagine how his adopted daughter would react if he said it out loud.

"Stay away from danger," the head of the Ryogo family said to Ran as an advice. "Please do call us once in a while. We miss you so much," he continued, his voice getting softer with each word he said. Ran's eyes settled on the window, gazing outside with a longing look. Both of them didn't say anything for awhile.

The coffee was getting colder with each second that passed, so she took a sip from the large white mug and replied to her father before ending the call.

"I miss you too."

The 'you' she mentioned meant the whole family; yes, he knew that alright. But somewhere in his mind and heart, he felt like it was especially for him, her father.

**. . . . .**

Narita Medical Centre. She didn't expect that it was the place she was dissected as a baby, along with other victims. She had walk past the hospital before—quite often, she might add. It looked extremely normal from the outside. The fact made her suspect nothing about it, not one bit. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun by now, strands of her bangs framing her tan face. Sitting Indian style on the couch, she leaned forward to type on her laptop.

For one hour of web-browsing, she found out that somehow Narita Medical Centre was connected to Yagiri Pharmaceuticals. It was _under_ the Pharmaceuticals, in fact. She hated when it comes to this—knowing little of something. She needed to know more. Leaning back on the couch, she started to think. It wasn't long until she heard the sound of the creaking door. Ran spotted Shizuo with his hair messy, rubbing his eyes when she looked behind.

"Morning," the brunette greeted lightly, a greeting that Shizuo replied with his usual grunt. "What are you doing so early?" mumbled the man. His footsteps on the wooden floor made a soft tap-tap sound as he made his way to the kitchen. Ran shrugged at the sleepy-toned question, although she knew that he wasn't aware of that action. "Research" was the simple answer she gave him. "On what?" Shizuo immediately countered, pushing for more. He hated it when she only gave short answers.

It was another short answer from Ran, but it was quite shocking to Shizuo. "On me," she replied.

His clear eyes widened at the slightest. The man was surprised, no doubt, but he tried hard not to show it. He didn't know what he should say to her next—thus, there was a rather uncomfortable silence. The blonde man resumed making his morning espresso. One of his strong hands was placed on the lid of the coffee maker, while the other was holding a mug. While doing this, he was thinking. And the topic of his thought was the same—it was always Ran.

He was wondering about the girl he saw and his mind popped out a question: "Is she real?" He saw jump through a fence in order to escape from gang punks and he mentally asked himself: "Was that just another planted gene?" He was wondering how she could endure everything, since for years the ones that knew about this was her family and herself. She looks normal from every angle—not until she told them about her secret.

She closed her white laptop, sighed, and leaned back on the couch. With delicate eyebrows wrinkled, she thought for a while. Web research didn't do much; there were so many protected data. Right then and there she wished that she was a pro-hacker. "Damn," she winced to herself in desperation. Noticing that the coffee mug was still full, she gulped the whole beverage down and went back to Shizuo's room. Once she was in, the door was locked.

Her mind was set once she changed and put on her hood jacket, noting the cloudy sky. If research on the web wasn't enough, then she'll just have to do some field research.

"I'm going out."

"Where?"

"Shibuya."

"…you're going home or what?"

"No, I'm not going home. There's something I need to do."

**. . . . .**

Izaya made his way inside the bullet train easily since there was no one on the transport. He sighed and took a seat near the doors. Leaning back, he noted that he was the only person inside the train. _Since it's Tuesday—people are probably busy_, his mind added. The informant had already told Namie about his little 'field trip' and asked her to take care of his office for awhile, so he assumed that it would be okay.

Until a figure entered the train right before the two sliding doors close, he knew it would be more than okay. It would be fun.

The brunette turned out to be Ran Ryogo.

Said girl turned her head only to greet the scenery of an empty bullet train, until her green eyes met auburn ones. Her thought about the empty train bullet was wrong, in fact. She narrowed her eyes as a response, while the other pair was glinting with amusement.

They both knew it was going to be a hell long ride.

A/N: Phew, sorry for the slow update, folks. School's been busier these days. Well, hope you like it!


	8. Small Talk, Work, Weather

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Contains an OC, and pairing undecided.

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: Wow! Special thanks to **ShadowCat98, RachelHunt612, Val95, snowlemur26, TheBeginingsEnd, **and **ILoveReadingAndWriting **and for reviewing/following/putting this story in your favorites. Sorry again for the slow update, but you'll have to get used to it. You have no idea how busy I am—plus I got sick too. Aaah… Oh! And, credit for the title goes to Taylor Swift. It's part of the lyrics from 'Back to December'.

This chapter is slightly Ran/Izaya since the votes to Izaya are still winning. Think of this chapter as a relationship-building progress.

Chapter 8 – Small Talk, Work, Weather

She nearly gagged out of reflex when she saw him, but managed to hold it down. _What a _nice _day_, she thought sarcastically. Trying to ignore the other resident of the bullet train, she took a seat across him. His skill as a good-mood-destroyer was just as great, if not better than his skills as an information broker. Ran didn't particularly care—she cared just now because it unexpectedly concerned herself in this case. Izaya smirked at the look of an annoyed Ran; he never spotted her like this since she was usually level-headed.

Hell hath no fury against a certain annoyed, brown-haired, moody Shibuya college graduate girl.

With all his might Izaya tried to cover his chuckle. It was so funny looking at the girl like this. Well, he loved every human being—all except Shizuo Heiwajima, that is. The crazy blonde tried to murder him numerous times during their encounter by flinging some random yet dead heavy objects to him, and even with Izaya tricking him twice resulting Shizuo being hit by a truck, that troublesome bartender-clad man didn't die. Rumor has it that he got shot, and when Izaya first heard that his archenemy didn't die, again, he winced.

_Back to Ran_, the informant's mind mentally mumbled. The girl that was sitting opposite to him in this empty train was too ignorant for a psychology graduate. _Maybe that's because I'm the only one involved_, he thought with a familiar smirk. _Might as well dig some more information from her_, Izaya continued thinking. Secretly he was sick of the silence in the empty train, and of the green eyes that were always gazing out the window in order to avoid eye contact with his red-tinted ones.

He wanted to see them clearly just once.

"Going somewhere today?" was the first breaking-the-ice question he fired. However, the answer he got in return was a harsh kind, yet it was classical. "What does it have to do with you?" The green eyes he was curious enough to look at finally made contact to his red-tinted ones, hers changing from a rather bright apple green into a shade of beech green. But still, Izaya wasn't one to give up so easily. "We might have the same destination, you know," he countered with a heavier voice, obviously hinting something. She caught the hidden meaning behind the tone he used, and was taken aback. The pair of her delicate eyebrows rose together slightly reflexively, just enough to let Izaya notice.

The raven-haired informant never missed a thing when he was observing someone—especially someone he wanted to know more. And that someone was Ran in particular. Luck brought her to him today, just enough so that he could question her. As to the brunette sitting with her legs crossed, it was probably misfortune that brought her to him today. He smirked again when he was sure that Ran was cussing him mentally at the time.

After the silence, she hesitated for awhile before firing back a question to him, green eyes glaring as strong as possible. "Where are you going?" She asked with an alert tone. Izaya couldn't help but chuckle. "Look who's talking," he teased. Her unfolded hands were now curled into a pair of fists, as if she wished that she could beat the living crap out of him right then and there.

This is infuriating. The man is infuriating. He's infuriating me. Did I do anything so bad that I deserve this? I let out a desperate sigh. I'll probably bleed myself for digging my nails into my palms so hard, but who cares. I wanted to punch him. But it would be considered a crime since there are hidden cameras in here… I hate being teased, especially when it comes to concern with a man named Orihara Izaya. Oh, now I know exactly why Shizuo wanted to kill him. Hell, I'll pray for his success in doing so!

"You wanna know where I'm going?"

Unexpectedly he replied. What the hell does he want? My eyes narrowed until it was almost at a hurting point. His auburn eyes glinted visibly. Automatically my mind reeled, resulting only one possibility: he was amused. Observing the man again, and considering that he was a sociopath, the three words were indeed true. But to think that I am the source of his amusement... Yuck, I felt nauseous. "Why the hell would I?" I snapped out.

Ran rolled her eyes. She wanted to just friggin' kill this guy. Her hands were now gripping deadly tight to the hem of her tangerine hood jacket that matched the yellow shirt she wore. "You asked me where I am going just now," he teased again. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten." Auburn eyes pinned her in a taunting way that made her just wanted to lose control. She wasn't sure how long she could take this ride.

"I'm heading to Narita Medical Centre." He stated, suddenly different compared to his normal demeanor.

At the mention of the Shibuya-based hospital that was her destination, her head snapped to look at Izaya's way, only to find him with the very same smug smirk on his face. "So you've been doing research too?" he asked, changing back to his childish behavior. "Look who's talking," she countered, her eyes no longer narrowed. "What about you? Why are you researching on me?"

Izaya tucked his two hands in his jacket's pocket and shrugged. "Shouldn't you be considering me as a helper to you?" he suggested. Ran scoffed, replying, "I didn't ask any of your help. Why should I 'consider you as a helper to me'?" she air-quoted to him.

"Because I am the best informant that's available." He retorted, gazing deeply into the girl's eyes. The action was copied by said girl.

"Make that the second-best informant."

"Who's the first, then? You?"

"Yeah. Who else would if it's not me?"

_This is starting to get interesting_, Izaya's mind noted. "Then tell me what you know about me." He said in a challenging way. She sighed in return. "I don't have to _know_ you. I just have to watch you. But fine, if that's what you want." She said. Straightening her form, she folded her hands in front of her chest and started.

"Izaya Orihara, huh. I've never really seen him with his jacket off—probably he never washed it before. Everyone knows that he's an informant that sells his information for money, thus called information broker. His archenemy is Shizuo Heiwajima—I was the living victim of this fact. He carries his annoying switchblade everywhere. That means he's either paranoid or just a masochist." She paused to take her breath of air. "And is really skilled at running away, I mean, jumping through fences and roofs and etcetera—a skill called parkour. His online chat screen name is Kanra, but I bet he has a few more since he's such a sly person. Right?"

He sat there, not moving from his position. It was his turn to fold hands in front of his chest. "Hey, do you still remember that there are hidden cameras here? They could've heard what I said, you know," she said tauntingly, as if she was trying to get revenge. Izaya nearly twitched at the fact that they might, but he hold it down.

A bell ring was heard. _"Shibuya," _the bullet train machine announced. _"Please mind the gap." _The sliding doors opened, and before the bustling crowd got in the train, both Ran and Izaya got out and made their way.

**. . . . .**

"Should we get on a taxi?"

"With you? Sorry, I'll pass." The girl quickened her walking pace.

Ran was familiar with this district. Why bother taking a taxi? It wouldn't hurt just walking once in a while. "Oi!" Izaya caught up to her side in no time, although his breath quickened a bit. "Since when do you consider us as friends?" she questioned. Izaya scoffed. "What? No, I don't." he leered at her. "Then why are we walking together?" was another query Ran fired in her most annoyed tone. Izaya didn't mind the tone and answered truthfully.

"Because we're going to the same place."

The walk was quiet since Ran decided to shut up and focus on the task beforehand, and it didn't take a long time for them to arrive at the hospital, note the quick pace Ran walked in. The building was just the same as it was when she lived here. Nothing had changed significantly. Confidently she strode towards the entrance door, Izaya trailing behind her. He was watching with amusement and wondered what she would do. Suddenly she halted and turned only to say these words to him:

"I already have my own plan here. Try to mess with it and you're dead."

Narita Medical Centre's interior was the typical hospital interior, only with a touch of wood and other Japanese ornaments. The rest of it was white. Ran, still in the confident fast pace, approached the receptionist's table and asked as soon as she got there. "Can I help you?" the nurse there asked in a gentle way. "Excuse me, would you mind telling me where Atari Miki's room is?"

_Atari Miki? Did she make the name up?_ Izaya that was standing beside her tried not to laugh, since it would mess up her plan—and he wanted to know what did she plan, too. It's a win-win situation, without her knowing. "Atari Miki… please wait a moment, I'll look it up." Ran tapped her foot slowly, not trying to make noise, while leaning against the counter. "I'm sorry, there's no Atari Miki here. Could you be mistaken?" the nurse asked. At this, Ran faked a surprised face.

"Really? Well, then where is she…? If she's not here…" she mumbled quietly with knitted eyebrows, it was an act unbeknownst to the poor nurse. Izaya merely watched Ran, still trying hard not to laugh. "Ah," Ran suddenly turned around to face the raven haired informant. "I'm going to the restroom, so you wait here, okay?" Then she turned again to ask the nurse about the ladies' restroom. "Go straight here and make a left, it's at the end of the hallway."

_She even used me, _he scoffed quietly. _Maybe she's better than I thought. At least this could be interesting._

Before leaving, she thanked the nurse and made her way to the ladies' restroom. Izaya suspected something was up, and decided to ask the same nurse. "Hey, the men's room is just beside the ladies', right?" The nurse nodded in approval. "Yes, it's in the same hallway." Smirking, he left the same way as Ran did without even bothered to thank the nurse.

He _did_ found her in the hallway Ms. Receptionist told them the restrooms were, but she wasn't in the restroom doing business. In fact, she was standing in front of the lift, waiting for the 'up' sign to blink. When he arrived, it blinked. The door opened and a few people came out, and Ran was the only one that got in. Izaya rushed right before the sliding doors closed automatically and stood in the corner of the rather narrow lift.

"Where exactly are you going?" he asked after catching his breath.

"Why exactly are you following me?" she snapped back, looking forward to gaze at her own reflection on the steel double doors. Izaya smirked.

"Because it's interesting."

**. . . . .**

They were on the third floor—Izaya wasn't sure what was there. The level seemed really quite that one would think no one was there. Compared to the floors beneath the third, this floor doesn't have any patient rooms at all. Ran looked as confident as ever, though the man doubted that she had ever visited this hospital before. She strode towards an open door. Above it was written on a flat board the words: Documentation Room.

"We're gonna barge in?"

"If you want information then you should."

"You're braver than I expected."

"I'm more than you've ever expected, Izaya."

She walked inside the room cautiously, scanning the insides carefully. No one seems there by the time. "Izaya, you watch the door. Tell me if someone's coming." She whispered and rushed inside, approaching one of the racks with the label 'Doctors' on it. Izaya tsk-ed—since when had they become partners in crime? She was so stingy before. Crossing his arms, he leaned his back on the door, guarding the room. Meanwhile, Ran was skimming over blue folders, trying to find the one containing data of doctors from the surgical department.

"Found it," she said under her breath. She opened the folder and flipped the pages quickly, but soon stopped as she found a bunch of papers with the bolded letters of her biological father's name; Juumon Sumimura. Taking out the document, she returned the folder and swiftly put the papers inside her bag. "Let's take the emergency exit" was the words she said to Izaya when she reached the door. "Let's go." Trailing behind her, Izaya was silent yet his five senses were alert. Opening the emergency exit door, they rushed downstairs.

Both of them didn't let their guard down even after they went out of the hospital.

**. . . . .**

"What did you get there? Let me see." Izaya said while the two were walking. "You'll have to pay for it, you know." She replied, not even bothering to share a glance at him. The male informant faked out a childish pout and said, "Rikawa-chan's so mean… I actually helped you out back there!" he mumbled. Ran let out a sigh. Well, she had to admit, he did help her out. "Don't call me that." She snapped at him, a finger jabbed to his chest. "Rikawa-chan's an idiot!" Izaya continued to act sulky.

An irk mark made its way to Ran's face. "I said stop calling me that," she muttered dangerously. "Then let me take a look at the paper!" He whined. Letting out another bigger sigh, she reached out for her bag and took the paper out for him.

"There. Happy?"

Izaya smirked. "I can't guarantee that I'll give it back to you."

Her green eyes grew wide and became brighter a bit. "What? Give it back!" she snapped.

The raven haired man laughed. "Just joking. Let me read it first. You were the one that took it anyway." He paused. "But still, a duel's a duel."

"Duel?"

"I still don't want to lose my rank as the best informant, while you proclaimed that you are the best instead of me." He grinned slyly. "If you want to be the best, then beat me."

"Fine. But give me back the paper, o—"

Ran's sentence was halted when she heard the sound of heavy thunder. When the two looked up at the sky, charcoal grey rainclouds were everywhere. A lightning flashed, and that confirmed both Izaya and Ran that rain could come any second. "We should hurry," he stated the obvious, but it didn't bother the female. They ran, but it was too late. Both of their bodies were drenched wet by the time they happen to pass by a bus station that could provide shelter.

Sitting down, Ran swept a strand of hair out of her face. "Lucky I put the paper inside my back," she muttered. Izaya was surprised when she sneezed softly. "How weak exactly your body is?" asked the man. "Stop mocking me. Have you read the whole paper?" At this question he shook his head. "I read a little as we ran, but not much."

"I'm not lending it to you again."

"Who needs it? As long as I got your dad's name I can do my own research." He ended the statement with a proud scoff.

_Shizuo, please kill him soon._

When the bus came, the two went on board, but didn't sit together.

Ran was aware that Izaya was one of the most should-avoid-men in Ikebukuro. But as long as he didn't bother about her and she didn't bother him, that's alright. And it helps to keep things amusing too.

Izaya was aware that Ran was one of the most skilled people in Ikebukuro. But as long as she didn't bother about him and he didn't bother her, that's alright. And it helps to keep things amusing too. And he loves things being amusing.

A/N: I think Izaya is OOC, very very very very very OOC. Please tell me what you think but no flames, thank you.


	9. Expositions

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Contains an OC, and pairing undecided.

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: Aah~! Thank you so much to **Flaming Eagle, TheBeginingsEnd, dinosaursgorawrr, **and **Izaya () **for reviewing/subscribing/putting the story in your favorites. You guys are the ones that cheered me up without knowing. By the way, if any of you wanted to know me more like on Facebook or something (probably no one, but still) please let me know. I like making new friends :)

Enjoy chapter 9!

Chapter 9 – Expositions

Orihara Izaya stared at his computer screen. The man was already back in his office, wanting to do some more work—especially after learning about her real father named Juumon Sumimura. Before he'd research on that, he opened a document on his computer. As he read, his body leaned back on the comfortable chair. It was _the _list, full of bullets and numberings, contained the two hundred nine points that grew into two hundred and ten points specifically about Ran Ryogo.

He then began to click here and there with a mouse in his hand, sorting the important points away from the random ones. Some of them where rumors, which were unguaranteed most of the time. He marked the information he got from these so-called rumors with a sign at the end of the sentence. It was (?). Then out of the blue Izaya though that it was best to shape up the list into paragraphs specially divided into sections, for example for her personality, likes and dislikes, social and work, and so on. Sighing, he realized he had no choice but to make it that way so that it could be easily read. He smirked to himself. With a complete portfolio like this, he bet that her parents—adopted or not—even didn't know her this well.

Most of the contents in the personality list were results of his observation on her, although he knew that her characteristics could be the result of the genes that Juumon Sumimura and co. planted into her body. The personality list didn't bother him a lot; he only wondered about what-if Ran that everyone saw isn't the Ran that was meant to be. Or did the Gods really mean to make her life this way? He'd never met someone that was like her before—dissected and planted and such. It was almost like she was a man-made human. He rested his chin on his hand that was on the table, staring at the bright computer screen that may damage his eyes since the room was minimally lit.

And meeting a person like her really made everything interesting. And as long as it's interesting, plus it involves human, Izaya wanted to be counted in. He got to know how she reacts to things too, and somehow it fueled more of his desire to know more. He _loved _humans. Not in a romantic way. Izaya Orihara was a sociopath after all.

He then typed a few basic character traits on the newly created blank document. 

_Personality_

Openness : Introvert 73%; Extrovert 23%

Solving : Objective 50%; Subjective 50%

Information : Facts 51%; Opinion 49%

Operation : Organized 71%; Flexible 29%

It was the result of his observation, but no calculation needed. He was a genius when it comes to humans, as always. At the sight of the information section, Izaya sighed. The girl trusted facts more than opinions, even though the difference between those two aspects was a mere 2%. All and all, he still suspected that her personality was corrupted by the surgeons that planted the genes inside her. Some of it might be planted on purpose, but still, side-effects weren't impossible, no?

But suddenly, without a rational reason, he frowned. Not the usual pout he faked, it was a real upset frown. _Who needs this list?_ His mind rasped unexpectedly. He was working on it for years, and yet he felt like he wanted to delete the whole thing. Ran was like a math formula in a nerd's mind—stuck there completely. What he wrote on the computer was merely a form of his memory, not just a random search-copy-and-paste from the net. He remembered every detail. Ran was the most interesting person he ever met so far after all.

Pressing Ctrl + A together to mark the whole text, he pushed the delete button. The letters vanished. He knew he could undo the action, but he had no intention to do so. He decided that what he did couldn't be undone. Closing the word program, he entered the internet and started to browse for information regarding a certain doctor named Juumon Sumimura.

**. . . . .**

"Now that I know your name, I'll curse you properly now," the brunette muttered inside Shizuo's room. Said man was out doing his usual work with Tom, so she was once again home alone in the modest apartment. The curse she promised to say out came in a low, sharp whisper. "Fuck you, Juumon Sumimura." She muttered. But somehow she wondered; was the man still alive? Or did he pass away already? Not caring about a thing, she decided that the question was for her to answer.

_Come to think of it_, she mused, _Izaya knew about Narita Medical Centre, which means he knew of the planted genes. _Another question came into mind; how come he knew so much about her? Then Celty's words were the next thing that popped in her mind.

_"Ran-chan passed out twice, and when that twice happened… Where did Orihara Izaya go?"_

And unexpectedly to Ran, Shinra had answered his lover's question with a hypothetical answer.

_"That Orihara Izaya was actually trying to find some information about you."_

Yes, when Shinra said that to her, she actually remembered that she agreed with the young doctor's assumption. She scoffed to no one in particular. _He probably thinks that I'm amusing or something like that_, her mind noted mentally. _Damn human freak_. Now she realized she wasn't in the mood for a research—and about Juumon Sumimura, no less—so she booted her laptop on and started to open the Dollars' website. After successfully logging in, the first thing she tried to find was the member counter.

11934. Her already bad mood worsened when she saw the line of numbers written in the member counter. Everything's a mess since Black Hole showed up. She sighed and slid her right hand behind her bangs, touching her forehead in a desperate manner. Black Hole; the damned name of the color gang suddenly reminded her of a piece of information Shizuo gave her not long ago. It was still fresh in her mind that the Black Hole bought a warehouse near the outskirts. Grabbing her cell phone, she made a call.

_"Hello?"_

"Shinra-san? Can you pass a message to Celty?"

_"Ah, Ran-san—okay, what do you want to ask?"_

She paused, conflicting with her own mind before reaching a decision. "Is she free tonight?"

_"What if she is?"_

"I'm asking her to accompany me to a place…"

_"Where is it exactly?"_

"A warehouse in the outskirts."

_"I'll text you later after asking her."_

"Thanks."

_"M-hmm, no problem."_

The call ended. Ran plopped herself on Shizuo's bed, waiting for the night to come. She really hoped Celty's free that night; she was absolutely curious about the warehouse. There could be something that might be a clue inside the building… But she kept the feeling down. She didn't like to have her hopes up, since if they do then there's a possibility that it wouldn't happen. Fate's such a big heartbreaker.

**. . . . .**

Somewhere else in the city, an unknown man was talking through the phone in a bossy tone. Judging from his appearance, he looked like a boss alright. "Burn it down tonight," he spoke in a low tone while pacing around the luxurious apartment of his, the cup of black coffee in his hand emitting smoke due to the temperature. "We wouldn't want people to know about us."

It was unusual for a person to wear a formal suit when he was at home—alone, to say the least. But this man was different; he looked neat in every way, like he was in an office. Yes, with shoes, tie, and all. The suit he wore was black.

"_Understood, boss." _The voice from the end of the line replied. He hummed in approval, replying that he should do a good job when it's time. The other man agreed. _"Of course, boss. We won't disappoint you."_

"Make sure you do it without anyone knowing. The key is stealth."

After ending the call, he set his coffee cup on the living room table and sat on the couch. The gadgets and tools were everywhere—on the couch, floor, table. The rest of the room was still pretty neat, though. A curtain was closed in order to block view from outside. Opening a glasses case, he put it on and started to mess with his computer. He started to access a few webpage; and then he clicked at certain spots and started to type things that normal people wouldn't comprehend. Well, people the same as him could understand, but there are only a few that were like him. A message appeared on the screen, blinking with the ping sound it made.

**Page successfully hacked.**

Disconnecting the internet connection, he smirked proudly. _It's just a matter of time_, he mentally said.

**. . . . .**

_Should I meet up with Kadota and his gang? _She thought for a while. _I found a new lead about my father… maybe I should check up on them. _Lazily reaching her cell without getting off the bed, she typed on the flip gadget before sending the message to Kadota.

"_Have time today? Let's meet up."_

Pressing the send button, she waited for the man to reply. Lying down on the bed all day was the last thing she wanted to do—it was a really boring Wednesday for Ran. She wasn't in the mood for anything. So far she had only taken a bath, eaten, and lie on the bed like this, curling up into a ball sometimes. Back then she liked being alone at home; she was a solitaire person after all. But now it feels really lonely…

A little sound emitted from her phone, signaling that a message was received.

"_Okay."_

Thank Gods he was free. She wouldn't know what she would do if he hadn't accepted the offer to meet up—she'd probably died in boredom. Getting up with a little grunt, the girl changed into a long-sleeved boat neck shirt and put her jacket on, not bothering to change her shorts. It was mid-autumn after all, so she should be careful not to catch a cold. She grabbed and stuffed her phone into her pants' pocket after sending a message to Shizuo.

"_I'm going out tonight."_

When she closed the front door and locked it, a reply came. _"With Kadota and his guys? I wanted to meet him too. Maybe he found leads or something." _She typed quickly in reply. _"Same here. Right now they're near Russian Sushi."_ Without caring whether Shizuo would reply or not, Ran carried on her way towards the restaurant infamous of its giant foreigner, Simon. Smiling a bit at the thought of him, the brunette quickened her pace towards the destination. She also wanted to tell them something.

**. . . . .**

"Any new leads?" Shizuo shot the question straight-forwardly. Ran gazed at him. "You sure don't like small talk, huh," came the mutter from the girl, earning a giggle from duo otaku Erika and Walker. Kadota shook his head slightly. "None." He answered. Ran nearly tsk-ed, but managed to stop the sound from coming out. "They, as we expected, are hard to sort away from unnecessary people." Togusa said, but soon added. "I'd say they're experts when it comes to camouflage."

Ran sighed at the small comment. "I, on the other hand, have something to tell you guys."

At this, the rest of the gang was all eyes and ears, even Kadota and Shizuo. The next fifteen minutes was spent on telling the story of Juumon Sumimura, and him being Ran's biological father. About his work at Narita Medical Centre, and how she found out that the hospital was connected to Yagiri Pharmaceuticals despite the Pharmaceuticals being merged, and so on. However, she didn't tell them about her little adventure with a certain raven-haired informant that wears a jacket everywhere.

The looks on their faces were the same; twisted between anger and sympathy. Reminded of the appointment with Celty she glanced at her white watch. It was a quarter to eight. Standing up, she declared that she's leaving somewhere. Kadota and co. nodded goodbye, while Shizuo told her not to come home so late. "Geez, okay," she muttered in reply. After she was out of the restaurant, she pulled her phone out and dialed Shinra once more.

"Idiot," she started. "What did she say?"

"_Oh God, sorry, Ran-san! I forgot to text you," _he said, making her sigh in irritation. _"She said it's okay. Where are you now? She said she wanted to pick you up."_

Glancing around, she replied, "In front of Russian Sushi."

"_Okay! Sorry again," _he apologized before ending the call. Without the young doctor knowing, Ran muttered. "Damn Shinra."

When she glanced at her watch again, it was almost eight. Right then she heard the sound of a familiar neigh, and turning to look at her left, she saw the female Dullahan approaching on Shooter. _"Sorry, let's go" _was the words she typed on the PDA when she pulled up. _"What do you want in that warehouse anyway? And in the outskirts?"_ Ran hesitated before telling her that it was some kind of the Black Hole base. Then she told her about the punk that borrowed money from Shizuo's employer that turned out to be one of the members used by the gang—that's how they found out.

"_Okay then." _Celty typed and gestured the girl to ride on. Making their way to the outskirts, Ran noted that it was already half past eight. She decided they should inspect the building before it gets dark, when the gang would likely be meeting up.

From afar, Ran spotted red. "What's that…?" she mumbled to herself, but Celty seemed to hear. Noticing this, Ran told her. "There's something weird up ahead." When she said this, she could feel Celty speeding up. Then she breathed—it was that moment she realized. She inhaled smoke. "It's a fire!" the girl yelled. Her grip around Celty's waist tightened when Shooter went faster. The scenery became clearer as they were closer.

It was indeed a fire—a huge building was burnt. Ran's green eyes narrowed both at the fact and at the smoke that stung her eyes. Celty pulled up, immediately opened her PDA and typed. _"How come!" _she typed frantically. Ran shielded her mouth with her hand before replying. "I don't know." Cough. "But I have a feeling that it's on purpose."

When her coughing increased, Celty started to type again. _"Let's head back." _The offer was accepted by the brunette with a nod since she was still coughing. Ran hated smoke.

As they made their way back to Shizuo's flat, Ran looked behind at the warehouse on fire with eyes still narrow.

A/N: Good? Okay? Not good at all? Tell me, but no flames.


	10. Tangled

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Contains an OC, and pairing undecided.

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: Hahaha, I laughed when I read **TheBeginingsEnd**'s review. Also, thanks to **IcarusWing**, **666AnimeFan666, LucisExPrince**, **Psycho17**, and **Kamai-Rui **for reviewing/following/putting this story in your Favorites list. Knowing that there are new people reading this story makes me flattered.

**IMPORTANT: VOTES WILL BE CLOSED THREE DAYS AFTER THIS CHAPTER IS POSTED. TO VOTE, PLEASE REVIEW THE CHAPTER OR VISIT THE AUTHOR'S POLL.**

Chapter 10 – Tangled

Stopping the engine-less motorbike in front of Shizuo's apartment, Celty opened her PDA and started to type on it. _"Don't think too much about it. I'm shocked as well, but we both need a good night sleep," _the Dullahan rationally advice her. Ran nodded solemnly, her eyes half lidded, mostly because she was upset. "I know, but I'm not sure that's possible. For now, at least," she whispered back as a reply. _"Are you going to tell Shizuo about this?" _Celty asked. Again, the brunette that already got of Shooter nodded in response. "He has the right to know," stated she. A simple silence enveloped the two, but it was short-lived as Celty began to type again. _"Okay then. I'm leaving. Take care." _

Ran okayed, and then Celty turned her bike and headed off to Shinra's place, leaving the fazed girl alone near the steps towards a certain super-powered blonde's door. She had no choice other than telling him. She was sure the event would be on the headlines tomorrow, so why bother to hide it from Shizuo? As she had said earlier, he has the right to know about this matter. Sighing, both in exhaustion and determination, she followed the stair until she was in front his door, opening it without bothering to knock. The shining light in his room was seen from outside, and she was immediately sure that he was home.

When the door creaked slightly, Shizuo glanced to look at whom he expected to come—Ran Ryogo. But then he noted the change in her eyes and the way she acted. Instinctively he asked, "What happened?" As an answer, Ran sighed tiredly, and Shizuo knew something was up. "Tell me about it."

Oh, he wasn't getting soft or anything, but something seems to be bothering her a lot. And for a girl as nonchalant as her, that 'something' must be a serious matter. Closing the unfolded newspaper in his hand, he put it on the table and waited for the brunette to respond. It came when Ran was in the kitchen—_probably preparing her own coffee_, Shizuo's mind predicted. "It's about the warehouse you told me about," she answered softly. Emerging with a white coffee mug in her hand, she approached the couch and sat beside Shizuo.

The moment he saw the beverage inside her mug, the man was slightly shocked at the fact that it wasn't coffee. It was, in fact, just a simple glass of warm milk—she must've added boiled water into it, since Shizuo remembered the carton of milk was inside the fridge. "What about it?" he asked, wanted to know more about the thing that was actually able to bother Ran. Before replying, this time Ran took a sip of the milk she had gotten herself. "It was burned," she countered simply with closed eyes.

Contrast to her green ones, Shizuo's orbs widened at the statement she had told him. "Wait—" the threads of logic in his head started to connect, "You were there just now? Alone?" he pushed for more. Ran shook her head. "I went with Celty. The fire consumed the whole building," she answered. Sinking himself in the fluffy couch, Shizuo grunted in irritation. _Just when I thought there's something in there that could be a clue, _his angry thoughts surfaced. He looked at her when she sighed.

"I'm tired."

"You're stating the obvious."

"Is it _that_ obvious?"

"_That_ obvious it is."

For the umpteenth time that day, she sighed again. "I'm going to bed."

"Night."

At this, Ran stopped at her tracks. She was, at first, taken aback when he had said that. _The _Shizuo said good night to her—sure, it was an unusual phenomenon. Still, she thought he was just like every other human in this world. People failed to notice that actually he wanted to be treated the same. She would if she were him. In the end, one person is just as similar to another.

Her shoulders relaxed as she gulped down the milk and headed towards the kitchen to put the glass in the sink. Shizuo re-opened the newspaper and continued reading. He wasn't reading at all—in fact he was merely staring blankly at the grayish paper before him, not paying attention to the words that were printed on it. His mind was somewhere else, thinking about something else. Shizuo was brought back to reality when Ran's form emerged once again from the kitchen.

"Good night," she replied back.

A pair of eyes widened slightly at her words, but they soon went back to their normal state. Ran had just said good night to him. To others it might be strange; horrifying even, but he told himself it was normal. Even though the brunette that just walked inside his room was planted with genes not from her parents or hers, he still thought she was normal. Even if the person he saw as Ran wasn't the real person she was meant to be, she was normal. And no matter how odd the world could be, in the end, one person is just as similar to another.

Then he imagined if Izaya was the same. Instantly he became nauseous. Strangely enough, he didn't feel too angry when he thought of his archenemy; known in his language as the flea. Maybe it's because he had dawned into a new fact. That actually Ran and he weren't mere acquaintances. They were best friends.

**. . . . .**

After changing into her sleepwear, Ran threw herself on the bed and let out a satisfied sigh. At last she was comfortable here. Earlier, Celty had told her to take a good long rest, and she agreed since it was possible for more complex matters to come after that. She couldn't let her guard down just because of this. She shouldn't have let her hopes high—look what happened. It's common sense; if you expect good things to happen then the outcome won't be as good as you thought it would be. Pulling her hair free and not bothering to brush it, she unfolded the cream-colored blanket that she had grew fond of and snuggled up. Celty's right at one thing she told her indirectly: it was just the beginning.

But then Shizuo popped into her mind; mainly about how she became friends with him. At first it was the accident, then meeting the urban legend "Headless Rider" which now has become more like an escort to her, and from there things began to flow naturally. And now here she was, crashing at his place since hers was literally bombarded by someone anonymous. From time to time, she told herself to be that kind of girl—the kind that avoids deep bonds with people because they're afraid to lose it. She never lost someone important, but come to think of it, she _did_ lose someone important to her.

She lost herself.

It doesn't really matter since she never knew her real self, but she knew the possibilities that the present Ran wasn't the real person she was. For the second time that day, she cursed Juumon Sumimura. It was all because of him. "Bastard," she muttered, her low voice muffled by the pillow she sank her face into.

Bonding—the word surfaced in her mind again. She reminded herself not to get too close to people, but now she wasn't avoiding anymore. She got used to it already. Celty, Shinra, Shizuo, Kadota and the gang—those are the people that she had grown attached to. Surely, she wouldn't want to lose them. But they were the ones that kept her fighting; she fought because she didn't want to lose them. For some individualists it may be the lamest thing, but for Ran, those people she had grown attached to were the ones that kept her going.

Shizuo was her best friend. That was a statement, not a question. It was the last thought that stuck in her head before she drifted to sleep.

Meanwhile, to Izaya, sleep wasn't necessary. That's when there's coffee on his table. He was, after all, a nocturnal creature. Even so, he would occasionally feel sleepy—now's an example. He suppressed the yawn that desperately wanted to be let out for the umpteenth time that night. No, Izaya will never reveal his weak side. Concentrating more on the computer screen than his drowsiness, he continued searching the net. There was so little information regarding Juumon Sumimura, Ran's father. The search results were always the same. None of them were related to the secret experiment. Then again, it _was_ secret—he didn't expect this research to be easy.

Glancing at the wall clock, he noted that it was really late. The time was ten past twelve; midnight. Shoulders sagged; he shut the computer down after saving his research results, telling himself he should go to bed. Despite his intentions, Izaya took another sip of coffee before going to sleep—an action contrast to what was on his mind. Then he remembered something.

_Perhaps I should borrow Sumimura-san's document from Ran-chan, _he thought with a sly smirk. Switching off the lights, he ended the day.

**. . . . .**

Unexpectedly, Ran woke up early again the next day. And, just like the last time she woke up early, she saw Shizuo still lying on bed motionlessly. The only sign of him still alive was the steady sound of breathing. Notably, it was the second time she saw him without that bartender suit he usually wears. The fog that clouded her mind lifted, and she was instantly reminded of yesterday. The burnt warehouse, obviously, should be on the papers today. Jumping of the bed still in her sleepwear, she dashed towards the door to find a newspaper lying outside. Ran knew that Shizuo subscribes the daily news—suddenly that reminded her of her father's habit.

Now her pace was steady, but still moderately fast. She made her way to the couch—unaware of the state of her hair that was still a little messy—and plopped down before her eyes followed the big bolded letters that were the headlines.

**EMPTY WAREHOUSE IN OUTSKIRTS BURNT.**

Then she read the sub-title below. Still in bold words, the text **"Firefighters weren't informed of the incident" **were written. _Sure enough_, she mentally said, _the place was rather far from the city and no one lives there too. It was a deserted place. _She sighed and started to run her fingers through her hair, untangling it in the process. While doing this she resumed reading the rest of the article.

"The warehouse was located in the outskirts of Ikebukuro, about half an hour ride from the city, and the area was rather deserted. The warehouse was previously owned by a company, but it was abandoned since said company went bankrupt. Until now, no one knew about the legal ownership of this warehouse. Since there were no witnesses, the source of fire remained unknown. Still, there are possibilities that the warehouse was purposely burnt. Local police are currently working on this case, and surely it will take some time until they got a clue regarding to the burnt warehouse—although the police themselves might be baffled about where to start."

Ran put down the papers on the table. She might be the witness, but it wouldn't help much. When Celty and she arrived, the place was already on fire. Now they had no clue about Black Hole—nothing at all. She sighed. Then, suddenly realizing the state she was in, in a rather rushed pace she made her way to the bathroom and showered. It's a long day ahead, and it's just about to get started.

She grabbed her laptop and put it on the living room table. Booting it on, she directly connected the gadget to the internet and logged in to the Dollars' website, specifically the chat room—her favorite place. It turned out that she wasn't alone. Kanra was also there, as if waiting for her to show up.

**Kanra** : Ah, Rikawa-chan!

**Kanra** : I was waiting for you~

**Rikawa** : *sigh* Drop that.

**Rikawa** : What do you want?

**Kanra** : Aw, Rikawa-chan's so meaaan

**Rikawa** : Spill it.

**Kanra** : Fine. Can I borrow your daddy's file?

**Rikawa** : You said you didn't need it.

**Kanra** : I changed my mind~! :D

**Rikawa** : Why should I hand it to you? I can't trust you

**Kanra** : Come on, just this one time, please~?  
><strong>Rikawa<strong> : What do I get in return?

**Kanra** : Whatever you want. I got everything.

**Rikawa** : Let's make a deal then.

**Kanra** : Now that's the Rikawa-chan I know~

**Rikawa** : I lend you the document; you tell me everything about my past.

**Kanra** : Okay! :D

**Kanra** : But I don't guarantee that my information is accurate.

**Kanra** : Still, it's worth the effort to find out.

**Rikawa** : I don't care.

Shit, she sounded really desperate. Sighing, Ran typed quickly to cover the last pop-up of hers.

**Rikawa** : Let's meet up then. Where?

**Kanra** : As long as Shizu-chan's not around, anywhere's fine.

**Rikawa** : Russian Sushi?

**Kanra** : Okay then~

**Kanra** : What time?

**Rikawa** : Today. One o'clock.

With that settled, Ran logged off.

**. . . . .**

It was the very same apartment and the very same man. He was leaning back on the couch, still wearing a formal suit that was similar to the one he wore some time ago. And he was talking to a very same man, who was his underling, through his cell phone. The conversation was quiet and held a rather serious atmosphere.

"I just read the headlines today," said the man in his low baritone voice.

"_We're sorry, boss. It was impossible to do that without attracting public attention_," a voice replied.

He sighed. "Of course it's impossible. But the situation you created is perfect. I could say this is a job well done."

The superior man could sense his subordinate relaxed. "_Thank you, boss_." The voice said. "_Oh, and about that girl… She reported our attack to the police, but we didn't find anything significant_."

At this, the mysterious man scoffed. "You're underestimating her," he started. "She's better than we thought. What if she told people about her being dissected? We'll be discovered," the man said with a threatening tone.

"_In that case, should we eliminate the Ryogo family too?_"

"No. They're just lowly cowards. It'll be a waste of time."

"_So we'll just have to keep the girl's mouth shut?_"

"And make sure she knows nothing about us."

"_We're waiting for your orders, boss._"

The man looked like he was thinking for a while, as he was silent. Then stood up from the couch and approached the window, peeking outside through the thick curtains he applied.

"Kidnap her. Make sure no one knows."

"_Understood, boss_."

A/N: Writing this story is getting harder, but I won't back down. Sorry if the plot is really slow. Did you like it? :D


	11. Purposely Untitled

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Izaya/OC/Shizuo, eventually Izaya/OC

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: Wait a sec… Is **Lady Hawk Wind **actually **Flaming Eagle**? You changed your penname? And sorry, **IcarusWing, **you can't vote twice—so I'll just count your review as one vote. Thanks to **OriharaKanra225**, **Seattlen, animemangafan123,** ****, and **KimchiBreath **for subscribing/reviewing/ putting this in your Favorites list.

**VOTES ARE CLOSED. THE WINNER IS IZAYA ORIHARA! THANK YOU FOR THE VOTES!**

The two, as promised, met in front of Russian Sushi with Simon as the mark, since he could get spotted easily. The giant foreigner was pretty curious about why they came together, since he didn't have a clue of their transaction—well, not exactly a transaction since it didn't involve any money. But you could say it was barter between the sly raven-haired informant and the brunette that was clueless of her own foggy past. Quietly they entered the restaurant and took a seat at the farthest room. Since it was afternoon and Ran was feeling slightly hungry, she decided to order some food to fill up her stomach. Izaya, on the other hand, only ordered his drink. After Simon was done taking orders, they began talking in a rather hushed tone.

Izaya's opening sentence wasn't very pleasant to Ran's ears. "I'm glad you didn't ignore my request." That made her feel like she was doing exactly what he wanted, which made her eyes narrow dangerously while glaring at the informant broker. "You piss me off again and I'll cut the deal." She hissed in reply. Izaya merely brushed off the threatening comment with his trademark chuckle. "You know we both don't want this deal to be cut off~" he said in a sing-song voice, irritating the girl more.

She opened the manila folder and held up its content. It was a file of Juumon Sumimura, her biological father. "This," she said before slapping the clipped papers on the table, "is what you want, right?" Izaya smirked at her series of action. Ran, no matter how long he observed her, was all and all very interesting to said informant broker. "Ran-chan's never wrong!" he said, nodding continuously. As a response, Ran folded her arms and leaned forward, speaking in an ever-serious tone.

"You know what I want," she murmured, eyeing Izaya. "I'm all ears."

The informant's smirk seemed to be plastered on his face all the time, but somehow Ran got used to it. "Fine~" he said, dropping the smirk he held for so long and faked a tired sigh before glancing back to the twenty-two year old that sat in front of him with a glare. "Let's start with… once upon a time."

**. . . . .**

It had been half an hour since Izaya told the (according to him) 'tale of Ran Ryogo', and said girl had already finished the sweet and sour Inari Sushi she ordered while listening to him seriously. First was the fact that she was dissected at Narita Medical Hospital, which she already knew, and Izaya told her about what Yagiri Pharmaceuticals have done. She wasn't sure about trusting him, but at least she should listen. She have also heard about people missing frequently about almost a year ago in Ikebukuro—so she simply concluded that it was the Pharmaceutical's doing.

Despite the promise that he would tell about her past, Izaya told more about what had happened in the shopping district during the time of her absence, since she was in Shibuya. Many things are connected, but the most shocking news was about Harima Mika, whom Celty thought was her head. She heard rumors, but nothing she heard was clear; they were like 'the Headless Rider attacked a girl to take her head' or something that goes by that line. Then Izaya told her about the rampage in the Yellow Scarves base.

"You seem to know everything, Izaya-san," the way she said those words reminded him a lot about Yagiri Namie—the same bored, nonchalant tone. Although he was sure she was trying to make him tell more. _A very tricky human_, he mentally smirked at the thought. Brick red hued eyes glinting, he resumed telling her the 'tale.'

At last, his story finally reached present time, which focused on Black Hole's activity. "A warehouse was burnt right? That warehouse was bought by the Black Hole, I've heard. They must be very sly, able to hide themselves like that," he murmured with a mischievous smile. "Just like any other humans, they're interesting." His last words were quickly countered by Ran.

"Freak."

Simon came in.

"What to order another, Miss?"  
>"…another Inari Sushi, then."<p>

"Okay!"

With that same big wide smile, Simon left the table. After his back was gone, Izaya replied. "That's just how I am. I love humanity and they love me back," he said. "By the way, Ran-chan, aren't you worried about getting fat? I didn't order anything, while you ate twice~" Izaya's maniacal smirk grew when he saw Ran twitch. "It's rude to eat in front of someone that isn't eating anything without offering them~"

She sighed. "If that's your way of telling me that you want a sushi, go order it by yourself." Her fist on her chin to support, Ran gestured to Izaya. "Anyway, you should continue." At this, the informant wearing his usual fur-trimmed jacket chuckled.

"Okaaay, okay," he imitated a drawl. "Oh, I came up with a rather exciting hypothesis." Izaya said, waiting for Ran's reaction. An eyebrow of hers shot up in confusion and curiosity. "What?" she asked, definitely wanting to know more. Izaya _did_ figured out a hypothesis just know after informing Ran about the important events, but this was new. First he'll have to make sure of one thing. "These days," he began, "do you feel watched? Or did someone attack you?"

This time a pair of her delicate eyebrows shot up, but not in confusion or curiosity. "What if someone did?" Izaya caught the hint that she was addressing someone had attacked her. "I think the center of all this fuss," he said again, this time raising an accusing finger to her, "is you."

She snapped. "You mean I am the culprit of all this?"

Izaya chuckled in his own carefree way when he heard her reply. "Ridiculous," he managed to say between laughs. When it subsided, he grinned. "I didn't say that you were behind all this." He paused to sip his drink and put the glass on the table again.

"I was saying that you are their target."

Once again, Ran's expression showed shock. Her green eyes lit up before darkening once more, and her widened eyes narrowed. "…and your hypothesis is?"

Ready for anything, Ran held her breath until Izaya gave her the answer. The quiet restaurant made the atmosphere around them grew tenser. The informant's auburn eyes glinted before he told her his hypothesis.

"Black Hole and Narita Medical Centre are connected."

He quickly added. "But that's a speculation… I myself am still not sure about it." He wasn't lying, but there was a hint in his voice. "Oh, Ran-chan hasn't answered my question yet~" he remarked. This made her cock one of her eyebrows again. "So, did you get attacked?"

For a minute Ran was conflicted—should she tell him about it? But what the hell, she didn't give a damn about what could he do with that information anymore. So she decided to just blurt it out; simple as that. "I wasn't attack. My apartment was." Izaya nodded, signing that he comprehends. "Not a robbery." It was a statement, not a question. And yes, he was right, in fact. "You know, Ran-chan, you should check the things in your apartment."

_Oh yeah, he doesn't know that I'm now staying at Shizuo's_, the girl thought. But soon she was forcefully snapped back to reality when Izaya continued what he wanted to say.

"There could be a bug in your laptop or something."

At this her eyes widened more—talking to Izaya was so full of surprises that she could die from heart attack. A bug; shit, why didn't she think of it earlier! The culprit wanted to know what she usually does on her laptop, so they planted a bug instead of directly stealing the laptop! Her head was screaming curses and profanities. Without bothering to finish her Inari Sushi or paying the bill, she stood up and rushed hurriedly to go back home, leaving a snickering Izaya sitting alone. He rose and headed towards the counter to pay the bill.

Ran owed him a lot; for information and for the bill.

**. . . . . **

Her breathing wasn't steady, but she didn't care. Her paranoid mind was thinking and 'what-if' questions ensued. If there was a bug, that means they knew about her chat and could access her chat history! That means they knew about her meeting with Izaya—and that means they could be following her here! If the bug could also be used as a tracker, that means they knew where she was. And that means risking Shizuo's life. Picking up her running pace, she didn't bother to normalize her breathing. She ran up the stairs and swiftly inserted the silver key to Shizuo's apartment.

Opening the door, Ran didn't notice anything different. It was quite—the lights were off because no one was home. The tension was slowly killing her. Nonetheless, with her breathing now steady, she walked to Shizuo's room. It was dark, just like the whole flat. Ignoring the fact that the lights should be turned on in order to see properly, she headed towards the desk and grabbed the white notebook. Carefully, she examined every part of it. Back, front, left side, right side. Ran even pulled out the battery. Nothing seemed unusual. Then it hit her—when she purchased this notebook, she wrote down the battery's number series in case she needed to buy a new one.

She put her backpack on the bed and searched inside it for a small pocket book. If she was right, then the series number's written there. "Found it," whispered the brunette not to anybody in particular. She opened the battery and looked at the number printed on it, and then she looked at the numbers written on the small book.

It was the same, but Ran noticed something different. With her nails, she nudged at the number area. Something's not right. "Could it be…?"

Then she decided to test her hypothesis. Again, with her nails, she tried to peel the place where BTR was printed. The surface wasn't flat—it felt like there was something stuck on it purposely. What else if not a sticker? She successfully peeled of the black tape with BTR printed on it. The number was the same—14500—but the letters on the battery were BLR.

Ran looked at her notebook. It was written there on the first page with pencil: BTR14500. Without hesitating for a moment, she pulled out the battery from her laptop and opened the window. "Perfect timing," she murmured as she spotted a yellow truck below. It was Wednesday—garbage day. She threw the battery nonchalantly and it fell at the back of the truck with all the other garbage, just where she want it to. If the battery was the tracker, then she's safe—but still, she needed to move away from here in order to keep her concealed and to keep Shizuo's life in the safe line.

She thought about Izaya. "Dang," the girl cursed. "I forgot to pay the bill."

**. . . . .**

"She's on the move now, boss."

"Follow her, but don't do anything. That's essential if we want to terror her."

"According to data, she will have lunch at Russian Sushi, but the tracker showed that she's going somewhere else."

"Split into two teams. One should follow her, and the other should standby at the restaurant."

With a press on the right button, the suit-wearing man ended the call. "This is only step one," he murmured. Then he sat down again, only to gaze at his laptop. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Rather reluctantly the man made his way to the door, asking in a clod tone: "Who is it?"

"It's me, Doctor."

His black spectacled eyes widened as he recognized the older man's voice. He opened the door, revealing a form of a rather aged man. "Long time no see, Doctor Juan." The visitor greeted casually. He was wearing a hat and a doctor's coat. "Yes," the young man, now identified as Juan, replied.

"It's been a long time… Sumimura-sensei."

A/N: I think this is lame. What do you think?


	12. Ritornare

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Izaya/OC/Shizuo, eventually Izaya/OC

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: I know some of you Shizuo-lovers might be disappointed, but it's decided since Izaya got more votes. **AnimeCrazy88, KanraTheWanderer, XxXTwilight-SinXxX, Ayuzawa Kaira, Osaranai Yume, shiranai456, AzureIceCrystal, LilKatez94, Silver Tiara 17, **thanks so much for subscribing/reviewing/putting this in your Favorites list. I really enjoy getting feedback from all of you. **LilKatez94, **I'm glad you like this and I'm really honored. Oh, and, I don't know how long this story will go—I'm guessing about 20 chapters or so, what do you think? As long as there's still someone out there reading, I'll keep updating. Wish me luck!

Chapter 12 – Ritornare*

_"Ran-san? What's the matter? Don't you realize what time is it now?" _said a groggy voice from the phone.

"Do you think I'd bother to call you at this time if it wasn't for something important?"

Yes, Ran Ryogo's reply was a total purposely made déjà vu. They had this kind of conversation before, but the last time Ran was the victim. A very tired sigh was let out by Shinra, making the brunette that called him feel a little sorry for the underground medic. But the hell with that, she had more important things to take care of. _"Okay, I'm 100% awake," _the young doctor replied. "Good. Here's the deal—do you have any spare room in your place, Shinra-san?"

It was silent for a while, but short-lived. Shinra replied in a surprised tone. _"Well there is, but… aren't you staying at Shizuo's now?"_ Ran nodded reflexively, although she knew Shinra wouldn't notice the gesture. "Yeah, but something came up, so I must be crashing at your place." Her voice sounded troubled, and she stressed the modal auxiliary in the sentence. Shinra, being constantly involved at things like this, knew that something bad was going on. He sounded his agreement.

After the red button was pressed, Ran sighed. _It is midday now, Shizuo's out working_, she thought wearily. "I'll tell him later then," she murmured softly. Then she rose and began to pack her things. Clothes, backpack, novels, a portable mouse, her laptop—she paused when she saw the white-colored notebook. Ran eyed it curiously. Grabbing the laptop, she examined it again thoroughly. Being as paranoid as ever, she was worried that something was still attached there.

About fifteen minutes later, a familiar neighing sound was heard by the girl. Immediately identifying it as the sound of Shooter, she grabbed the suitcase and rushed down the stairs, only to meet a helmet-wearing Dullahan with her PDA in one hand.

"_What happened?"_

"I'll tell you guys later," she said, hopping up on the engine-less motorcycle and positioning herself behind Celty. Having no other choice, the female Dullahan then headed off to Shinra's flat.

**. . . . .**

Once the three of them—Celty, Shinra, and Ran—were comfortably seated on the living room couch at Shinra's flat, Shinra asked a question that he and Celty had been wanting to ask. "Hey, really, what's going on?" he queried, an eyebrow cocked behind those glasses. "I'll explain later, okay? I also want Shizuo to know." After saying this she casually slipped out her flip cell phone from her pocket, opening it to send said blond a message. _"As soon as you finish your business, come to Shinra's place, okay? I'll be there."_

Pressing the send button, Ran leaned back and sunk on the couch. Both Shinra and the famous 'Headless Rider' looked at her in a confused yet concerned way. She noticed their gaze and sighed before saying, "Don't stare." At this, the couple averted their gaze away in a rather flustered manner. "Sorry," Shinra managed to stutter out. But a second later the two looked back at her again, this time noticing that her green eyes were closed. Even Celty could feel the tranquil state Ran was currently in without her eyes. They have never seen her like this. She looked like she was calm yet tired.

_"Now I'm really curious about what happened," _Celty typed up, showing the PDA screen to Shinra. The young doctor nodded in agreement at this. "Me too," he replied softly, not wanting to disturb the brunette that was sitting close-eyed on his couch. "Maybe we should leave her alone," Shinra suggested. Then he put his hand on Celty's smaller back and led her out of the room, leaving Ran alone with her thoughts—or so they thought.

Little did they know that Ran actually fell asleep.

Her peaceful slumber was rudely interrupted by the vibration of her phone, signaling that there was an unread message. Moaning slightly, she covered her eyes with one hand and reached her phone with the other, flipping it open in the process. _"Okay. What happened?" _She scoffed. Everyone had been bugging her with this kind of question today. _"I'll tell you when you're there," _she typed in reply and sent it. Her mind began working, thinking about a way to tell those three about the matter. She didn't want to make them worry—and about her, nonetheless.

Ran got up abruptly and went to the restroom; a habit of hers every time she wakes up.

**. . . . .**

Izaya Orihara just got out of Russian Sushi, spending his time sitting inside the restaurant and wondering about his guess. Yes, it was just a lucky guess, but its effect on Ran was unpredictable, just like the way he loves humans. He is that kind of sly and cautious person, therefore it was normal for him to suddenly inform her about the possibilities of being tracked by a device that was installed during the 'invasion' of her flat. Stretching his arms, he walked out of the restaurant; the scenery of a busy crowd crossing the street greeted his brick red hued eyes. He was used to this kind of view since he was constantly travelling from Shinjuku to Ikebukuro or vice versa. But there was something unusual that caught his eye.

There were men watching him. Only two of them—no, he spotted more. _Three, five, six, _his mind counted the number of suspicious men. Aside from the hustling crowd, those men were in some kind of a circling formation, not just randomly 'placed' there. Note the suit they wore. Izaya was sure that these people were hired by someone. He, of course, had been involved by this kind of business before, an illegal organization whatsoever. That just reminded him of color gangs. And speaking of colors…

He glanced at them again, careful not to get caught, to make sure the color his healthy eyes saw wasn't wrong.

Black—the color was associated with a color gang called Black Hole.

The raven-haired informant smirked to no one in particular. Were they watching him or something? _Ah, I feel like I'm famous~ _his mind mentally mocked. He wanted to test his hypothesis—that the Black Hole was somehow connected to Narita Medical Centre—but it wasn't the right time. Clearly, he was the target.

_Or not?_ His mind suddenly thought.

Ran was with him earlier. Could they be following Ran? But he arrived here at the same time as Ran, and he didn't spot anyone. He shoved his hand in his pocket, gripping the switchblade inside. No one knew what could happen to him. Then a thought, a very sinful one, occurred in his mind.

_If these suspicious looking men are setting Ran as their target, then maybe she could be the bait to test the truth of his hypothesis—whether the Black Hole is associated to NMC or not._

Oh, no worries, Izaya wouldn't want to use her that fast. He wanted to fulfill his interest in her first, and later when he's no longer amused, he shall throw her like he used to treat everybody else. He loved humanity and humanity loved him back, or so he thought. Deep inside his own little heart (does it even exist in him?), he knew that in the end he was just the same. He was human. Izaya always ignored what his heart says—he listens to what his head has to say. And his heart's voice began to fade little by little until it completely vanished. It's more interesting to follow his head anyway.

**. . . . **

"What's the deal?" was the first thing Shizuo asked as soon as he arrived at Shinra's. The four of them sat together in the living room, Ran sitting beside Shizuo. "Do you guys know?" the blonde restlessly looked at them, asking for an answer. Shinra and Celty shook their head, having no idea about this either. Ran sighed at Shizuo's actions. "Well, I'm gonna tell you now, so listen carefully." At her words, he calmed down a little.

He felt a little anxious when he first enter the room and spotted a suitcase that he identified as Ran's. _Does that mean she's moving out? _He wondered. Was he upset about her leaving? The answer was between yes and no. At least Ran kept him company, since Kasuka wasn't home much. When he saw Ran shifting to find a comfortable sitting position, he knew that she was about to get started. It was one of her habits.

And started she did. "This afternoon I found something very dangerous," she avoided telling them about how the 'dangerous thing' got there. Scanning her friends' expression, Ran knew that they were all ears. "There was an alien device in my laptop, disguised as a battery that I recognized wasn't originally mine. I threw it away, sadly, to avoid risks." This time their eyes widened, Shinra's mouth managed to gape without him knowing. Afraid of interruptions, she held her hand up. "Wait, let me finish," the girl said.

"I threw the thing at the back of a garbage-picking truck, so it should lead to the dump. It was a bug, I suspected. But it could be the multifunction type—a bug and also a tracker. Lucky I spotted it," she murmured the last part lowly. "That's why you're moving out?" Shizuo questioned, and the brunette replied with a nod. "It's not safe anymore. They probably already know about you and your relationship with me, so they might as well target you." She took in a breath. "And you know I don't want that to happen."

It was for the best, Shizuo thought. If he were Ran, he would probably do the same thing. His mind strayed away yet again, this time thinking about the culprit. Maybe it was the same person that destroyed her apartment. There was a big possibility to it. "This is probably the best way, Ran-san," Shinra spoke up, maybe trying to comfort her. Again, Ran only replied with a nod. _"You're free to stay as long as you like." _Celty typed up and showed her PDA to the girl. "Thanks," Ran countered.

It was then she felt really lucky to have considerate friends like them.

**. . . . .**

Juumon Sumimura leaned back on the couch in a manner that somehow reminded Juan of Ran. They were father and daughter after all, even after this man planted various genes inside his daughter's own body. The young surgeon was this man's apprentice. He studied under him for almost eight years, mostly when he was in high school up until he was in the middle of college. They had stopped their lessons since Sumimura decided that there's nothing more he could teach to Juan. And it's a long time since their last meeting.

And now, here he was, sitting casually on his couch, once in a while sipping some coffee from the cup he provided.

"How is my daughter?" Juumon asked with his usual low voice. "We're still watching, Sensei. Nothing seems out of our plan," replied the apprentice, looking more stern than usual. He was nervous, actually. Juumon Sumimura, who sat in front of him, sighed. "I should tell you the truth, Juan. I could never let go of my dream, even after years passed." The elder man paused. "I still couldn't let it go."

Juan knew his teacher well, and he always told him about his greatest ambition. The reason he was still living. He wanted to achieve that goal so badly that he sacrificed his own daughter, Ran Ryogo. He had always wanted to create the perfect human being. The young man actually felt like opposing it, but he looked at his teacher as an idol; almost praising him, to say the least.

But deep down, he knew that nobody's perfect.

*_Meaning "return" in Italian_

A/N: Yet another lame one. This time more than the last. What do you think? 


	13. Heart to Heart with Celty Sturluson

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Izaya/OC/Shizuo, eventually Izaya/OC

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: Sorry I miss-spelt you penname **Osanai Yume… **Aah, so sorry! (T_T)

Thanks to **Mystical Blue Fire **and **TheVGMAAddict **for the follow/review/favorite. Lame title, I know. I had a hard time trying to portray things in the point of view of Celty Sturluson—a person that doesn't have a head. Yes, this whole chapter is written in Celty's point of view!

Chapter 13 – Heart to Heart with Celty Sturluson

The situation has grown into a serious matter. There was a multifunction bug-tracker installed in Ran's laptop camouflaged as a battery, which probably means the culprit was able to access the unprotected saved files on her laptop. I hope she doesn't have anything important inside it, or the wrongdoer might want to take advantage of the files. And my feeling tells me that something bad will happen, however, we still cannot predict when.

Oh, sorry, you all must have been confused of who's talking. This is Celty speaking, very well known in public as an urban legend named The Headless Rider. I'm one of Ran's friends. After the whole bug-slash-tracker thing, she moved in here to Shinra's place (which is also shared with me) in order to keep Shizuo safe. Her apartment was attacked by someone anonymous not too long ago, so she had to stay with Shizuo. That's when she found out about the fake battery. I'm sure that Shizuo, Shinra, and I are genuinely worried of her, because she looks like she's experiencing a very difficult ordeal—well, she _is_ a paranoid girl, so she must be over-thinking things.

When I woke up this morning, I spotted Ran already sitting on the couch, right in front of the television despite the electronic device being off. Yes, I could sense it without my eyes. She was staring blankly at nothing in particular—zoning off, in modern people's term. And yes, I could sense it without my eyes (again). You guys should get used to it.

I approached the girl, but having no intentions to interrupt her. Ran's usual pale complexion stood out more; maybe because of the bright light from outside the living room, and it made her look like she was sick. When I positioned myself beside her on the couch she was sitting on, I could feel her shift in surprise, or so I thought. As usual, in order to be able to communicate properly, I took out my PDA.

_"Are you okay?"_

"Oh, um… yeah, sort of. Why are you up so early?"

Oh, great, she's trying to change the topic. This happens often. I didn't ignore her question, but my mind was already focused. Quickly I typed on the touch screen of my black-colored gadget. _"Hey, that's supposed to be my line, Ran-san."_

She laughed lightly before answering her own question. "Well, I guess I sleep too much… so, yeah." She scratched the back of her head at the lame ending she had just said. I knew it was a lie. I don't know how, but at that moment I could see her tired green eyes with clearly visible bags under them, sort of. Maybe it's because of this odd black smoke from my neck. Oh, well. _"Are you sure you're okay?" _I typed, unconvinced at her previous answer. At this, she nodded.

"M-hmm, I'm okay." She was such a persistent kid, even more than Shinra.

_"You know," _I started typing again, "_If you have anything to say, I'll be listening." _Ran smiled calmly, her face lightening up a bit. "Thanks, Celty. But I don't think I've got anything to tell you—for now, at least," she concluded.

Now it's obvious that Ran Ryogo was _not _okay. When people or I say things like that to her, she usually would react by punching my shoulder playfully with her fist and reply with a "what the hell, Celty?" or something that goes to that line. This Ran was not like her at all—completely, totally, perfectly, _out of character_—with the small sweet smile and all. My mind was determined, set to go. I should make her blurt out _everything_. And everything means without leaving out a small fact. That's the only way to make her act like she used to be—to make her feel relieved without holding in anymore, because she is the kind of girl that will keep all her troubles to herself, not wanting to bother the others about it. But that's what friends are supposed to do.

Eventually I typed again. _"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"_

Ran looked at me with a why-do-you-ask kind of stare, but answered anyways. "Okay..."

_"Why do you always keep things to yourself?" _I decided to be bold.

"Because it's not good to make others worry about you."

_"Friends will always worry about you."_

"Yeah, but if you can do it by yourself, why trouble others?"

_"Can you not trouble me, then?"_

"Huh?" Ran answered with a confused look.

_"The thing that bothers me is that you look like you're hiding something."_

"No, I'm not!"

_"Yes, you are. So if you don't wanna trouble me, then just tell me already."_

"Uh…" she looked hesitant for a second. "But you'll promise not to tell anyone, right?"

_"Pinky swears."_

**. . . . .**

I should admit, maybe the questions I threw at her that day were too harsh and frontal. And it was more like an investigation rather than a heart-to-heart talk between girls. I would sense Ran grimace or wince at times, and I feel truly sorry for her. Maybe I should improve my social skills… But anyways, Ran answered the questions I asked honestly. I don't think she's lying since she sounded confident in sounding her opinion. And she was really open-minded too. Oh, now I _really _feel bad for her.

_"First off… you should explain how you found out that your battery was actually an external device installed when you're apartment was assaulted. You couldn't have found it out when you were coincidentally checking the battery out, right?"_

I swore her eyes were like talking to me. It was like they were saying 'can-you-read-minds?' when those two green orbs widened. Despite the short-lived surprise, Ran answered my question (that sounded more like a demand since it doesn't have a question mark). "You promise not to tell anyone, right?" I typed in reply. _"Pinky swears." _Okay, the scene sounded really familiar—a perfect déjà vu of what happened not five minutes ago. I heard her inhale. Realizing that her answer may be shocking, I decided to brace myself.

"Actually, Izaya Orihara told me about it."

_"What!"_

"H-he didn't tell me directly like 'there's a bug on your laptop' or something! He said that during the assault on my flat someone might install something weird in it," she managed to blurt out. "And surprisingly he's right." Ran muttered the last part softly, eyes away from my form beside her on the couch. I felt like I was struck by lightning when she mentioned that name. So that's why she opted not to tell them how she found out about it. Because at that time Shizuo was there, and mentioning the informant broker's name would cause the blonde man to go all crazy, throwing random things in the living room. I shuddered slightly at the mental image of World War III ensuing inside Shinra's living room.

My fingers hesitated to move a little before typing on the screen again. _"When and where did he tell you about it? Did you meet up?" _After I showed my black PDA to let Ran read the words, she glared at me again. It was such a strong glare that I could sense it better than ever. And the feeling was exactly the same; her green eyes were talking to me again: "Can you read minds?" I guess I always press the right buttons…

Ran let out a sigh. "Uh, yeah, we met… It was because of a deal. We exchanged information. He decided to give his for free only if I let him have mine. We decided to meet at Russian Sushi at noon. When he mentioned about the possibilities of the bug, I hurried back to Shizuo's. Uh, and… I sort of left him alone… with the bill…" Her voice was gradually getting softer due to embarrassment. Ran was always like that; worrying about the smallest thing. Such a perfectionist, I thought.

_"What did you exchanged back then?"_

"He told me about the events—starting off from when I was dissected, but he didn't explain this part in detail since he also didn't know much. Then about Dollars, Yellow Scarves or rather Blue Squares that pretend to be in Yellow Scarves, Saika, the Yagiri Pharmaceuticals, until the first Dollars' meet-up and when you showed up in front of Harima Mika that you had thought was your head, and finally about the 'Yellow Scarves showdown'." She concluded, explaining the whole thing in a rather calm way. "He also told me about the Black Hole—it was like a story-telling from the past until present."

She paused for a while, to catch her breath. Then she continued. "Izaya said he suspected that Black Hole is somehow associated with Narita Medical Centre—that's the hospital where I was dissected, also the place my father worked as a surgeon."

_"And you gave him…?"_

"Wait. You may not have known about this, but I went to Shibuya, NMC to be exact…" she hesitated before continuing the next part of her sentence. "I went there with Izaya." When Ran saw my form went frigid because of the surprise, she quickly added. "I-It's not like it was planned! I accidentally met him in the bullet train, and he just sort of followed me along," Ran elaborated. Now it was clear why she didn't want to talk too much with Shizuo around. Ran had been with Izaya most of the time—what a surprising fact. Not that I would tell anyone. I already promised the brunette that I won't tell anybody about the things she told me.

Ran continued. "I—I mean we—broke inside the document storage room of the hospital, and I found a file of my real father. He only caught a glimpse of it though, because then it rained very hard. I was soaking wet back then…" she trailed off. "So this time he demanded my father's file as an exchange in our deal."

I started to type on the PDA again. _"Ran, how do you feel when you're around Izaya? Don't you mind him being near you? He might be plotting something dangerous."_

At these words, I felt her frown in confusion. My assumption was that she also wasn't sure about how she felt. But later she answered truthfully. "Wary—and cautious—half because of my paranoid mind and the other half was because of his reputation as a dangerous man." She tried her best to explain. "But other than that I think it's okay if I'm assured that he's not planning anything; which is rather impossible due to my paranoid mind." Ran repeated again. _"You should loosen up a bit. Maybe he's not as bad as we think, but he's still dangerous," _I warned her. She nodded.

Honestly I didn't want to pressure her anymore, so I stood up and showed her the typed words on my PDA before putting it back in my pocket. _"Thanks for telling everything, Ran. I promise I won't tell anyone. You should get some rest."_ She rose and punched my shoulder playfully. "What the hell, Celty," the girl glared, still in a playful way. "I should be the one thanking you." With that being said, she walked away.

That very moment, I was convinced that the old Ran was back.

**. . . . .**

"What will you do if you have the chance to meet her again, Sensei?"

The old man now had a cigarette in his mouth, puffing the smoke constantly. "I doubt that I'll meet her again."

Doctor Juan sat across him. It was the second time his Sumimura-sensei visited his monotonous apartment. Using his index finger to push his glasses up his nose bridge, he remarked politely. "What if you _do_?" he pushed. Old Juumon Sumimura—still wearing his doctor's coat—exhaled his breath along with some smoke, hesitant about what should he answer.

Secretly, he wanted to tell Ran he was sorry. He felt selfish, really selfish—he used his own daughter as a medium to achieve his personal goal. For a split second he felt like he could die thinking of it. He was her father, but at the same time he was responsible for her suffering. For a split second he was sure Ran hated her. For a split second, he thought that maybe it was wrong to use her in such a sinful way, planting genes that originally wasn't hers inside her body when she was a baby. Those thoughts flashed by his mind in a time to fast.

And for the next second, he thought that if he explained why, Ran wouldn't hate him. That it was okay for him to sacrifice her to fulfill his goal. His thoughts were back to his biggest ambition; his biggest dream. Wouldn't she be happy if he was happy as well? She would be willing to sacrifice herself as long as her daddy's happy, wouldn't she? He pushed his previous thoughts far, far away. Then his mind formed an answer to his ex-apprentice's question.

"I would dissect her again, so that she would be a form of my success—creating the perfect human."

A/N: Dear Lord, I think Celty is so very out of character! And the ending, uh… Lame, again, I guess. Don't hesitate to tell me about what you think—as long as no flames. Okay? Okay. Thank you.


	14. Just the Beginning

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Izaya/OC/Shizuo, eventually Izaya/OC

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: **roonaty **and **Mystical Blue Fire**, thanks for the favorite/review/follow you just gave. I'm kinda disappointed since not too many people reviewed the last chapter. I can't tell whether you like the flow of the story or you just plain hate it. I need to know what you think…

Chapter 14 – Just the Beginning

The spectacled young surgeon named Juan was born in the same district as his teacher's daughter, in Shibuya. He was one year older than the brunette, but that didn't stop them from going to the same school—it was a coincidence, really. She was a freshman while he was already a junior. It's not like they didn't know each other, although he wasn't entirely sure if she would still remember anything about him. No, wait—he should take those words back. It was impossible for her to forget him. She would never forget him; not after what had happened.

It was back then, when she was fifteen and he was sixteen, when she was a freshman and he was a junior, that they had a big fight. Nothing physical ensued, however. It happened at school. Up until now he could still remember how many spectators there were when he and Ran were debating over a weird topic—for normal kids their age—rather loudly in the hallway. No doubt, it was an unpleasant memory. To both parties, maybe, he might add though it was only an assumption. What were they talking about again? Oh, right, planted genes. They were arguing about _planted genes_, for anyone's sake, at a high school hallway in front of confused-looking fellow schoolmates. Now that he thought about it carefully, she was Sumimura-sensei's daughter that was dissected as a baby. He hadn't acknowledged that back then. He only understood now about why she had opposed him when they fought. She was the victim of gene-planting, after all. Years ago, Juan found out that the girl he argued with was his mentor's daughter through a conversation with said old man.

"I heard you fought with someone at school, Juan," Sumimura said after they finish the routine lesson.

"How did you know?" Juan asked back quietly, trying to maintain the polite tone in his words.

"Rumors." He blew his cigarette.

"Yes, I did."

"With a girl?"  
>"How did you know?" The sentence was said again.<p>

"Is her name Ran Ryogo?"

The dialogue with Juumon Sumimura ensued half a year ago. It was then Sumimura-sensei told him that the girl he debated with—Ran—was his daughter, now adopted by another family residing in Shibuya. She was the result of his experiment. His failed experiment, Juan might add. The young man had always hated the word 'fail' or any word that means the same. In his whole life, he had never failed before, and yet his teacher had. The doctor would do anything so that he would not fail. Of course, as an only apprentice, Juumon Sumimura had told him about his greatest dream that he tried to fulfill, but failed.

Fail makes you a failure; it was those words that he had kept to himself all this time. He refused to fail. It gives you nothing but heartbreak and pitiful sympathy from other people. He didn't need people to feel sorry for him—to hell with that. He should succeed. That way no one will look lowly on him anymore.

Even though Sumimura-sensei had failed, he respected the man very much. He taught him a lot of things since he was young (even though he is still young) and had shared his biggest ambition. He told him how badly he wanted to accomplish it, to create a perfect human being. Juan knew a lot of people think it was impossible, including him, but that's the point of Sumimura-sensei's goal—to make the impossible possible. Of course it was never an easy task to complete, his teacher had said. But then he added that he wanted Juan to be part of it, to be part of his goal, and mostly to be part of his success.

Black Hole was only one of his ways to achieve the goal: bring Ran back. The brunette was back after two years leaving Ikebukuro, returning with a rather sensational way. In one or two minutes people were buzzing about 'the comeback of Ran Ryogo' or whatsoever. Juan decided that it was time to launch their first strike, by creating a color gang associated with black—a commonly seen color. It made them hard to spot by public, unlike the color yellow or Dollars that had no color.

Juan was a well known surgeon for some society, but behind his legal profession little did people know that he was also skilled on the computer; thus called a _hacker_. It came in handy at times—this time was one of them. Black Hole gained more members since he broke in the security code that prevents people from hacking into Dollars' website, manipulating the web and making the member's page redirected to the newly created Black Hole website. Once the action was encoded, no matter how many times a person try to access Dollars' website, the page will always be redirected to the Black Hole homepage. It may take some time, but slowly and surely they were gaining members. In the end, eventually they gave up and joined the Black Hole, too. Juan was sure that most of the residents of Ikebukuro were weak-willed humans that desperately need a place to fit in—or just plain bored. They should have a lot of members in order to build their reputation and take the girl back.

Because in big cities like Ikebukuro, reputation is everything.

**. . . . .**

Believe it or not, the talk with Celty earlier made Ran feel a little bit refreshed. _Just a little_, she added mentally. Looking outside through the window, the brunette noted that the weather was just perfect for a walk. It wasn't too sunny, with clouds floating around. When was the last time she went out for nothing but air? Then she remembered that she was still wearing her sleepwear, a combination of an oversized tee and a pair of baggy shorts. Ran headed inside the spare room that was hers and changed before telling Celty that she was going to go outside. The Dullahan said a simple 'be careful' before the girl left.

**. . . . .**

The air in Tokyo was surely not the purest air—it was smoggy—but still Ran enjoyed her day out. Shinra's apartment wasn't too far from the Russian Sushi, so Ran could stop by if she felt hungry. The brunette wasn't, however. She has very high hunger tolerance with that small stomach of hers. The pair of earphones she stuck on her ears earlier was blasting with music set on a randomized arrangement. She needed something to distract her from all of her speculations and mostly her paranoid mind. She hated the suspicious part of herself—even though she wasn't sure if it was the _original _part of herself or not.

Unbeknownst to the girl, there was someone anonymous behind her, watching every move she made. Still, Ran was currently busy trying to distract herself with music. The man a few meters behind her made a call, and it didn't take too long for him to reach the end of the line. "She's distracted, Boss. Should we make our move now?"

Meanwhile, Juan was standing in front of the big window of his apartment without the curtains closed. The spectacled man was peering down, looking at the busy crowd beneath him walking about, the height making them seem as small as vulnerable, weak ants to him. He hesitated just for a split second before replying back to the person that was waiting for a command. Before telling him what to do, Juan looked down again.

There she was, walking on the street as she blended with the grey crowd without knowing that one of his Black Hole men was following her.

_Sumimura-sensei wants her, fast, _the devil inside him whispered.

"Continue spying procedure, when the time is right, do it. Make sure nobody witnesses."

After giving his subordinate exact orders, Juan ended the call with a press on the right button.

**. . . . .**

It seemed like her assumptions were right—the park was empty. She sat down at one of the benches, staring blankly at the man-made decorative fountain with the music still playing through her pair of orange-white earphones. She had wandered around town mindlessly without a particular destination, and suddenly it was already this late—nearly 5 p.m. The sky was, as usual, tinged with a tangerine hue because of the gradually setting sun. Wandering around town like that sure made Ran feel tired.

She turned off the compact MP3 player that was inside her jacket's pocket all the time, feeling the wind brush against her ears. Closing her green eyes, Ran leaned back against the wooden bench while enjoying the breeze that swept her brown hair and bangs. The unsuspecting brunette was relaxing peacefully, when a dark form emerged behind her.

With one swift movement, her mouth was covered with a damp cloth. Her green eyes shot open in surprise, but it was short lived as they closed again as her whole world went black.

**. . . . .**

Shinra was brushing his teeth before going to bed, a daily routine he always does in the morning and at night before he goes to sleep. It was actually already 10 p.m., he noted when he saw the clock through the mirror that was in front of him.

"Celty?" he called out to the female Dullahan, voice muffled by the foam in his mouth.

_"What?"_ Celty had typed in reply as soon as she arrived, standing beside him.

The young underground medic rinsed his foam-filled mouth and spit it inside the sink before continuing to talk to his lover. "Where's Ran? Hasn't she come home yet?"

Celty was also wondering about the same thing. _It's just not like her to disappear like this_, she thought. _Maybe she was hanging out with Shizuo? Or Kadota and his gang? _Again, Celty's mind thought about every possibility. No, if she went with either of the two parties, she would've told her first. A text message would be received, at least. Now it was Celty's turn to be paranoid. She was scared that something might happen to her friend. And with Black Hole crawling around sneakily, who knows what might happen? Then the words Ran said to her earlier today hit her—hard.

_"It's just a hypothesis that… the Black Hole is associated with Narita Medical Centre."_

_ "I'll go find her," _the Dullahan typed and showed her PDA to Shinra before reaching for the yellow pointy-eared helmet that was lying on the couch. She put it on and rushed towards her motorcycle. Shinra looked at her vanishing back in concern—both concern for her and Ran. He could only hope that Ran wasn't in danger…

**. . . . .**

Shooter neighed when Celty decided to speed up the engine-less motorcycle. _Where could she be?_ Celty's mind wondered worriedly. For the last half an hour (that seemed more like three hours for Celty) of searching throughout the city, up until now she had found no clue about her whereabouts, not to mention Ran herself. Celty was positive that something bad had happened to brunette girl. Then the Dullahan decided mentally that it was best to ask Shizuo for help—the more the better. It might be late at night and he could rant as much as he want, but she knew when it came to Ran, being one of Shizuo's closest friends, that blonde would act quickly. With that in mind, she turned Shooter to the left towards Shizuo's flat.

Little did she know that the navy blue van she passed was heading towards Juan's, carrying Ran inside.

A/N: I thought that the story was going way too slow and short, so I'm going to stir up things a bit (evil laugh). Still trying to lengthen up the chapters, but it seems like it's getting shorter. Anyways, review.


	15. Jeopardy

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Izaya/OC/Shizuo, eventually Izaya/OC

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**Risa Varleen : **Thank you for the feedback, I'm really glad you liked it! :)

**Not your best chapter : **Okay, no offense taken. Just tell me again if you don't like this one. Thank you for being honest. Really, thank you :D

**Elementless : **Really? Thanks! I guess I want this story to be much longer—it's so fun to write this!

**April Marciano **and **Kodukuna Hana, **thanks for putting this story in your Favorites list. I appreciate it and I feel so honored! Thank you!

Chapter 15 – Jeopardy

Shizuo's mouth fell open just enough to let the burning cigarette slip out of his lips and roll on the floor, just after Celty had told him about Ran's matter in one simple sentence: _"Ran's missing, and she's in danger." _As a reaction to what the Dullahan had typed on her PDA, Shizuo gripped her jacket-covered shoulders with such strength and stared right at where her eyes would be. The blonde's slate eyes narrowed, but his voice didn't change when he said to Celty. It was low and hoarse all at once.

"What danger?"

**. . . . .**

_Dammit, this hurts… so bad…_

As the thought rang in her mind, Ran's bright green eyes re-opened as she regained her long lost consciousness, only this time the forest color was much darker than before. Her eyebrows creased when she realized that there was something tied around her wrists and ankles. Judging from the pain it caused, those must be used on her from hours ago. Speaking of time, is it night already? She was at the back of the van—Ran knew from the roaring engine sound, laid down in a position so uncomfortable she was sure her legs got cramped. But the position she was in gave access to a view through the window of the van. It was night already, although she wasn't sure about the exact time. Trying to stay levelheaded despite of the aching appendage muscles that were begging for release, Ran looked around in case there was something sharp that could be able to free her from the constricting… Ropes, she mentally noted as she rubbed the texture of the thing. Well, not just ropes, it turned out that there were also tapes around her wrists and ankles.

_Where is this van going…? _Ran glanced to take a better look of her captor, but all she could see was the back part of the passenger seat. Great, she was being treated like a mere _thing _instead of a human.

_Hypothetically speaking_, her already even-tempered mind spoke; _these goddamned people that kidnapped me are either from Narita Medical Centre of Black Hole men… but the two organizations is somehow connected, supposedly_. Her thoughts were cut off rather abruptly by the voice of talking men that reached her ears. The brunette began listening carefully, noting the muffled voice and knowing that they would keep it down in order not to wake her up—considering they didn't know she was conscious… yet.

"What took you so long? You had her unconscious for, like, seven hours ago." Ran noted the time the anonymous voice mentioned. That means it was already midnight, since she remembered that it was five when she blacked out at the park. She passed out for seven hours, and now she could feel her stomach trying very hard not to rumble. God, even her high hunger-tolerance doesn't stand a chance against seven hours of not eating anything.

"A couple came by—this weird teenage girl and a brown haired guy wearing Raira's uniform, and they nearly spotted me and her unconscious body, so I hid." Another voice replied the one that asked before. She suspected the man that kidnapped her was the kind of idiotic subordinate that was instructed by a genius big boss—just like in the movies, but then again, people can't always believe in all the things that they see, especially on the television. _A couple wearing Raira's uniform… _the thought of it reminded her of the incident not long after the first Dollars meet up. To be exact, when Celty showed up in front of public and confronted a girl—

_ Could they be Harima Mika and Yagiri Seiji…?  
><em>

**. . . . .**

A helmet wearing Shizuo was sitting behind Celty's motorcycle that was running on full speed while cursing profanities to no one in particular. His head was in a mess; all he could think was to 'kill, kill, kill' the culprit that did this to Ran. The still bartender-clad blonde was silently wishing that Celty could speed up some more, although he knew that the female Headless Rider was already on the maximum speed Shooter could get. But wait… where are they heading to? He looked at the street sign he usually uses as a deadly weapon he throws.

Up ahead is… Shinjuku? Looking at the white letters forming the name of the district was sickening enough, since it made a very vivid memory surface on his mind. Shinjuku, of course, was the district his archenemy Izaya Orihara lives at. "Oi, Celty! Don't tell me you're going to see that flea!" he yelled, a part of it caused by the whirling noise of the air around them and another from the rage that was building bit by bit at the thought of that sly informant broker. The Irish merely glanced behind to Shizuo as a response before continuing to focus on the drive. Shizuo resumed muttering in a volume louder than before.

"Kill, kill, kill, kill…"

**. . . . .**

Her mind was settled then. Ran was sure that these people that kidnapped her were part of the gloomy hospital of her past, if not one of the Black Hole men. Since she was at the back of the speeding up van in a very uncomfortable position, no one could see that she was actually already regained consciousness, which she was grateful for. _Now what to do… _even at times like this, her paranoid mind won't stop being paranoid. As usual, a lot of what-if questions popped out in her mind.

For the umpteenth time in ten minutes, she scanned what was supposed to be a little space around her to look for anything sharp that would be able to cut the tapes and ropes that were constricting her. Alas, there was nothing that was capable of helping her.

"It's past midnight—surely Doctor Juan will be mad at us." The second voice said.

"Oh, please, if I explain what actually happened, Doctor will only be mad at _you_. Why did you take so long?" The first voice retorted in an annoyed tone. Considering of his voice's volume, Ran assumed that the first man was the driver of the van.

Wait—Juan? Why that name sounded really familiar in her ears? Right, how could she forget? Ran would've scoffed that sentence out if her mouth wasn't covered by a piece of cloth. In her whole life, she only knew one person by the name of Juan, and sure enough it was _him_. Her high school memories flooded back in her mind, mostly focusing on her relationship with Juan Kagoyama.

She remembered it vividly. Honestly she thought that his name was awfully weird for a sixteen-year-old wearing a pair of glasses that seemed to shine all the time. A combination between a Western name and a Japanese last name—sure enough one of his parents were foreigners. She didn't really pay much attention to him, even if he sat two seats in front of her in class. Back then, she thought that Juan was just another ordinary student—only more quiet—that somehow was in the same class as she was. Apparently she made a big mistake.

The fight they had became one of the top rumors of the whole school year.

Why didn't she remember of him before? _He _was the culprit. _He_, or his men, sneaked into her apartment and destroyed the whole space and as if it wasn't enough, installed a multifunctional bug on her laptop. Of course it was him all along! Why didn't she remember of him before? Ran repeated the sentence like it was a mantra ringing in her head.

They fought over a controversial thing for the two of them. It concerned them, although she didn't know how it concerned him. Juan was such a rock-head back then. They argued and none of them were willing to give in and admit defeat. But she was sure that the topic of their debate was controversial, at least for her. But… did the man actually know about this from the start? If he did, how did he find out? There were just so many questions left unanswered. And the source of all this ridiculous torturing chaos with her as the main character of the play—of course, her father, Juumon Sumimura. She was determined that the damned man would pay _everything_.

When the van came to a stop, Ran swore she felt her breath stop.

**. . . . .**

His eyes hurt. Shizuo _did_ widen his slate eyes too much—but it was a reflexive response. How could he not? His life-long archenemy was standing with such a cocky pose he tried hard not to punch at, fur-trimmed jacket waving behind him due to the chilling night wind, and those hands inside his pockets as if he knew that they were going to see him. Not that the blonde wanted to. Shizuo could tell that those devious hands were playing with the switchblade inside the pocket. And those eyes and that smirk… GAH!

"Well well, what have we got here?" When he said those words, Izaya's brick red hued eyes were glinting more than it usually does. He was excited, even Celty could sense it. Said Dullahan pulled Shooter over and got off the black motorcycle, reaching for her PDA after doing so. Shizuo didn't show any signs of physical attacks, but that didn't stop him from sending death glares to the raven-haired informant broker. Celty typed at the black gadget, _"Let's just get straight to the point. Ran's in danger and we need your help to find her."_

The dangerous smirk dropped from Izaya's face, but it was short lived as his lips were curled up once more. "Really? How can I be of any help?" The man said, almost in a mocking tone. _"She went for a walk this afternoon, but hasn't come back since. She told me about your little _'trip' _to Shibuya." _Orihara Izaya let out a chuckle. "That's right. Shortly, I know that she has those planted genes."

Again, Shizuo's eyes widened. Well, he _did _considered the fact that Izaya would do some research about her. It was Izaya they were talking about here, not just an amateur at info-gathering. But making him work together with the flea to find Ran… what was Celty thinking about, exactly? Has she lost her mind? Shizuo felt a pang of anger at the thought of Ran being hurt. Right, he was doing this for Ran.

_For Ran. _He mentally repeated as he clenched his fist, glaring at the ground beneath him.

Izaya smirked at the sight before him. It wasn't Celty he was looking at. It was Shizuo.

**. . . . .**

"Hey, she's actually awake," the driver said as he looked at a glaring Ran. His hands reached for the back of her head, where the tie of the cloth around her mouth was located. Not entirely surprising, she didn't say a word when the man with the goatee (she had mentally named the man Goatee by now) took of the annoying piece of cloth off her face. The one that kidnapped her, a very tall man, released the contracting ropes and tapes from her ankles but neglected the ones on her wrist. He got her up and Goatee closed the door of the van.

Apparently they were in front of an apartment which Ran wasn't familiar with. This is their boss' lair—Juan Kagoyama's lair. Sick of the lack of scenery at the back of the van, she drank in the sight around her with her deep forest green eyes. Those orbs turned darker as she saw a familiar building that she could spot from afar. It was the Russian Sushi building. She couldn't believe that she was close to where she lived, and yet she couldn't reach it. Ran was snapped out of her thoughts as one of the men approached her.

Goatee reached out to her jacket's pocket and took out her flip cell phone, said, "Sorry miss, we'll have to take this." Tallman later grabbed her by her upper arm and led the way. Ran, however, wriggled away from the grasp and narrowed her eyes dangerously at him. "I can walk by myself," she sneered, deadly venom dripping in each word she said. Caught off guard, Tallman let go of her upper arm and the three of them continued walking towards the apartment in a tense atmosphere.

They reached an elevator, where Goatee pressed the up button, and within seconds the lift dinged while the sliding metal doors opened. Goatee pushed her rather harshly inside the elevator while his partner entered too and pressed the 6 button. As soon as the doors are closed, Ran took her chances.

She glared at the two bodyguards through the elevator doors like mirrors, and then averted her gaze towards the screen that showed what floor are they on. When the number turned five, swiftly and accurately Ran bump her side to Goatee, causing the driver's back to collide with the cold wall. Right after that, the tall man reached for his dagger, but Ran's left foot already hit his stomach, making the man to groan in pain as he fell down. Goatee nearly recovered from the hit, but the lift dinged once. They arrived at their destination.

When the sliding doors open, the first thing she saw standing right before her was Juan.

**. . . . .**

The raven haired informant played with his switchblade—flicking it in and out, in and out, repeating the process. Celty had instructed Izaya about what he should do, and she had told him that it was nothing like the 'playtime' he always had with Shizuo. The situation was far worse than that. Ran's past was involved with dark organizations and dark people, and they were dangerous. Anything could happen to her as they spoke. _Anything._

Izaya smirked as he stared at his own smirking reflection on the small knife.

"Finally, things are getting interesting~!"


	16. Brusque, Brisk, Vigorous

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Izaya/OC/Shizuo, eventually Izaya/OC

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**IMPORTANT!**

Did you notice that in chapter 14 I described Juan as a junior and Ran a freshman? They're one year apart. And yet, in the fifteenth chapter, I mentioned Juan being in her class _and _sitting two seats in front of her! Yeah, I'm nuts. I forget the things that are in my story. What's that supposed to mean? Anyway, from now on just forget the fact I told you in chapter 15. The only thing you should remember is their fight, period. Sorry for the inconvenience _and_ clumsiness…

~grammarsucks

**Risa Varleen **: Okay, I hope you like this chapter then. Thanks for the review~

**metsfan101 **: Thank you!

**Crystal Nightray, TykiPyon, **and **rootbeerox**,thanks for listing this story in your Favorites/subscribing! I really appreciate it, you guys :)

**As an addition**, due to the (sick, piss-off) final exams that will be held soon, I won't be posting new chapters—studying and all… I hope you guys understand since I update slow anyway (he-he), but still, I'm sorry…

Chapter 16 – Brusque, Brisk, Vigorous

"B-Boss…"

"What took you so long? Your target was a mere girl."

"I am not a mere girl."

The man that was standing before her, now identified as Juan Kagoyama, scoffed. At his mocking action, Ran glared her best, hoping that it could intimidate him somehow. Her hopes were denied, however, since Juan was still standing there looking as smug as ever. That was the only thing that hadn't changed from him—his arrogance. Ran remembered the time during their high-school year. He might appear as a quiet—even timid—boy, but she had the odd feeling that he wasn't just that. And it was proven. The fight they had was intense, and no one that attended the same high school as them would forget. It was the highlight of the year.

By the time Ran and Juan exchanged death glares to each other, Goatee and Tallman had already recovered from Ran's assault in the elevator earlier. They proceeded to grab the brunette by both of her upper arm, making her unable to escape. She winced as the two men constricted her with force that only men have, but that didn't stop her from still glowering at Goatee and Tallman's superior.

Juan smirked and pushed those glasses up his nose bridge, the lenses reflecting the room's lighting. _The curtains are closed_, Ran mentally noted, _and not just on one side_. He closed every single window with a blind. _What, is he trying to isolate himself from the rest of the world? _Ran scoffed to herself when the question formed into her mind. When he heard the sound that came from Ran, Juan sneered. Being taller a good few inch from her allowed him to look down at her—both literally and metaphorically. "What exactly are you scoffing at, Ran?" Juan spat the last word that was her name like it was the most sinful word he had ever said. It was Ran turn to sneer. "And what would be your concern, Juan?" she copied her actions, glaring more. The grips on her forearms were getting tighter, as the two bodyguards thought that she might want to attack physically.

The young surgeon narrowed his eyes dangerously. "There's no time for this little chit-chat, Ran. This isn't a reunion."

"Who said anything about a reunion?" she snapped arrogantly.

He ignored the constricted brunette's reaction, pressing the down button on the elevator right behind the two men in black. After the ding of the lift, he gestured to his two bodyguards to get in the already open elevator while bringing Ran along with them. The metal sliding doors closed once they were all in, and Goatee proceeded to press the button leading to the first floor.

The edgy silence was abruptly broke by Ran's hoarse voice, noting that she hadn't drunk for hours. "Where are we going?" she said in a rather guttural way. At the question, Juan leaned back against the railing in the metal box. "I'm not bringing you to anybody."

"Then?" she pushed for more.

"We're going to brainwash you."

Her eyes widened.

"You think we're gonna spare you after all the effort of bringing you here? You might leak some information."

After a few seconds that she used for registering the sentence that Juan had said to her, she responded with a growl.

"You're working for Narita Medical Centre, are you…?"

There was a wicked smirk plastered on his face that she wished she could rip off, silently confirming the fact that he was working for the hospital was true. Ran gritted her teeth before asking yet again. "What about Black Hole? What are your ties with them?" She inquired. At her second query during their time in the elevator, he sighed. It was then they heard a ding, signaling that they had arrived on the first floor.

"What's the use of asking so many questions, Ran? You'll not be remembering anything soon, so why bother?"

Once she finished registering what he had said, Ran swore after this was over she _will _rip his throat out.

**. . . . .**

"Celty!"  
>Said Dullahan and Shizuo were still riding on Shooter, the chilly midnight wind buzzing around their ear, making the blonde shout out even though he only wanted to call her. The female rider glance back since she was unable to type on her PDA as usual while driving full speed on the infamous black bike, signaling her friend to continue talking—yelling, to be exact. "There are tire tracks on the road!" he resumed. Though Celty didn't possess eyes in order to see, the helmeted figure glanced down to the street. As if she saw the tracks Shizuo mentioned, the Irish proceeded to concentrate more on the road and followed the tire tracks as she was sure it would lead them to their main target—Ran.<p>

The tire tracks showed that she was carried by a four-wheel drive by someone, and it could be more than one person. Armed or unarmed, that they didn't know. It's their risk to find out and deal with the criminals that kidnapped the female brunette. The thing they also didn't know was what they were planning to do to her. Sure, the number one suspect was either NMC or the Black Hole gangsters, but both Shizuo and her weren't sure about what did they want to do to her. Eliminate her?

Unintentionally, Celty shuddered at the thought. _It's a possibility_, she tried to think in a positive way as she said to herself. Shizuo was gripping his knees with both of his hands all the time—she could sense the anxiousness radiating from him. It was normal to worry this much, since this was concerning their friend, and this wasn't an easy matter either. It was deadly serious.

Shooter neighed as Celty tried to speed up. They were almost at the heart of Ikebukuro.

**. . . . .**

_Lucky the driver was easy to knock out_, Izaya thought to himself while glancing at said penetrated man. He had hit him at the back of his neck, effectively passing him out. After that, the informant simply took control of the Volkswagen. _Lucky he was alone too, _again he mentally noted, _to face more than one is just a pain. _

_Lucky they were my underlings. _At the thought, he smirked arrogantly, red eyes gleaming.

What he had thought of was true. The driver he knocked out was one of his pawns at getting people up on the roof to jump. It was the same man that drove this car in order to bring his victims to the apartment's rooftop. They were the kidnappers he paid a little sum of money—considering his huge earnings. Since the key was left in the starter, the raven-haired man easily started the car and drove out of the dark parking lot. He was walking on the street when he spotted a set of suspicious tire tracks. It was new, he noted after examining the tracks. And now he was going to follow it. Chances were the tracks might lead them to Ran.

Smirking, he shifted into the third gear.

**. . . . .**

With a push on her back by one of the men, Ran nearly fell down face first on the asphalt of the road. After glaring at the wrongdoer that was Goatee, she proceeded to follow Juan, resuming glaring at the man's back. They were walking down the road since it was empty at this hour, and she was oblivious to where were they headed too. While they were pacing, Ran thought about a way to escape from these people. Problem was she had no idea whether they were armed or unarmed. _It shouldn't be a problem getting away from these two_… she thought silently, glancing now and then at said two men. _The real stuff is Juan. _Her mind continued.

_To hell with that._

In a split second, she efficiently got away from the grasp of Goatee and Tallman, and later proceeded to kick the two men. On the groin, anyone might add. It was a crucial, vital assault, as the bodyguards fell back due to the impact of the kick while trying to restrain their groans of pain. The noise reached Juan's ears. He turned back only to find nothing but his two subordinates slumped on the ground, trying hard to get up.

A strangled groan came from Juan as he felt pain and blood rushing around his lower back and the back of his neck. She thought that was it, but what happened next was beyond what she had expected.

It was an almost invisible move—Juan pulled out the gun from his coat and fired it, and it hit. The brunette cried out at the sudden motion and the pain that was beginning to take effect. She felt her body went numb as she helplessly stumbled and eventually fell on the ground, whimpering at the aftermath of the shoot.

Then she heard a familiar neigh.

**. . . . .**

"Ran!"

Shizuo yelled at the sight of the bleeding young woman that was sitting on the asphalted road before them, while the attacker didn't seem to mind him. Celty tried to get Shooter go faster as they neared their destination. The blonde spotted a man with a revolver—that shot Ran earlier—lifting the weapon again, this time aiming once more at her head to make sure she was dead.

"Celty, hurry up!" He growled those words beside her helmet, and she did as he said.

Right on time, the Dullahan sped up and hit the man with Shooter, the front wheel still running when it passed the victim's stomach. The man groaned in pain as he was hit by a high speed motorcycle, while his head hit the walls that were behind him. He was bleeding rather severely. Almost miraculously, he stood up again. At the time he had recovered from the hit, Celty and Shizuo were already carrying the injured Ran towards the motorcycle. Juan lifted up his revolver once more—he was sure the revolver was fully loaded, it should be able finish them off. But still he couldn't believe that the brunette was actually acquainted with the Headless Rider and the infamous Shizuo Heiwajima.

"Sorry, Sir, but you have to put that down~"

Eyes wide, Juan turned around only to find another person. Through his glasses he could see a man. The fur-trimmed jacket, those red hued eyes, the sickening smirk—it was Izaya Orihara, the informant broker. Said man's smirk grew wider as he saw the surprised look on the other man's face. Izaya tipped the end of the weapon with his index finger. "This may hurt someone, you know?" He said in a mocking tone. Juan's finger was steady on the trigger when he felt something hit him.

Izaya's other hand swiftly hit Juan's heart, causing the doctor to grunt and fall back again. This time, Izaya was sure, that this man wouldn't get up for a nice long time.

The informant looked ahead, only spotting Ran being carried by Shizuo and Celty to Shinra's house for medication under the illegal young doctor. Smirking, he got into the Volkswagen he had parked not too far away from where he was standing. He pulled the car over where Juan's body was lying, leaning on the walls. He spotted the revolver lying next to the man. It was equipped with a silencer, Izaya noted. _No wonder nobody was awake_, he thought.

Without a second thought, he drove back to Shinjuku.

**. . . . .**

Izaya's car was already out of sight, leaving nothing but a spur of smoke behind its trail. The tall subordinate of Juan's coughed at the smell of the smoke, wheezing just slightly. He scanned the area, only remembering about the kick he received from the brunette. She was nowhere to be found. But a lying bleeding body that was nearby caught his attention more than anything else. Tallman identified it as Juan's body.

"B-boss…"

A/N: U-huh, I suck, you don't have to tell me that. Anyway, Shizuo-voters please don't stop reading this story just because the final pairing is Ran/Izaya. That makes me sad. Anyway, leave a review and tell me what you think. Thanks!


	17. Games of Psyche

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Izaya/OC/Shizuo, eventually Izaya/OC

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**darkangel42264 **: Thank you for putting this in your Favorites list! Yes, I'm aware of that, and still working on it, he-he. It's very nice of you to point that out. Thank you so much for the guidance!

**Lostsoul95 **: I'm so glad I got a reviewer like you. Thank you for the advices, I'll try to fix the mistakes I've made. They're very useful. Thank you~!

Thanks to **Sutsuko**, **secretlovers**,** Melody of the Stars**, **MaddyTheAwesome**, **DeathByInnuendo**,** My Bloody mind**, and **superstrawberryL** for subscribing/putting this story in your Favorites. Again, I'm so happy I received lots of feedback. I really appreciate it—you don't know how happy I am right now! Really, authors are nothing without their readers. Thank you everybody!

Chapter 17 – Games of Psyche

**Hang in there, Ran.**

**. . . . .**

_Dark, empty, cold…_

"You've got to do something to her! She's dying!"

_Where am I?_

The nurses frantically panicked as they carried her towards the emergency room.

_I can't see anything…_

"I'm sorry Sir, but you can't enter…"

_It's so cold…_

_Help me._

**. . . . .**

_Shit, _she scrunched her face in pain. _My head…_

"_You're definitely not from here. People address me as the Headless Rider, or the Black Rider."_

Tears threatened to flow down her cheeks as they prickled at the ends of her eyes that were squeezed shut.

"_In order to achieve their goal, they planted various genes in my body when I was a newborn." _

Unable to bear the hurt that was going through all over her body; she let out a strangled groaned.

"_We might have the same destination, you know."_

It was a strange feeling that made her feel miserable.

"_What took you so long? Your target was a mere girl."_

She cursed inwardly—she couldn't take it anymore.

"_We're going to brainwash you."_

One drop of tear slowly trailed down her face. God it hurts.

_Bang!_

She felt nothing after she felt a little sting on her left arm.

**. . . . .**

"Um… Ran-san, are you okay?"

Her eyebrows furrowed and she groaned as she woke up. Ran sighed weakly as she put in so much effort to open her heavy eyelids. "Where am I…" she let out a frail murmur while her right hand held her warm forehead, shielding her eyes from the light. When the two striking orbs opened, she narrowed them at once as the lighting in the room stung her vision. In addition, it was all white, too…

"You're in the hospital, Ran-san. Um, are you really okay? You shouldn't sit up first—"

Before the visitor could finish his sentence, Ran winced in pain and clutched her stomach. The visitor hesitantly held her shoulders and helped her to lie back down. By the time, her eyes were already used to the light.

"Ryuugamine Mikado-kun…?" she uncertainly whispered.

Said high school student was sitting beside her hospital bed with an awkward smile and a blush on his face. "Um, Celty-san and Heiwajima Shizuo-san told me about the whole situation. I'm really sorry," he said formally. Ran nodded in response, but later she sighed. She sensed the exhaustion inside her beginning to take over her body—she suddenly felt extremely sleepy.

"How long have I been here…?" Ran whispered.

Mikado handed her a glass of water that was placed on the desk that she gladly accepted. "Three days, Ran-san." She blinked when he told her the exact amount of time she had been unconscious. Seventy-two hours. Again, she sighed, handing the already empty glass back to him. Said boy noticed the tired look on her face and spoke up, "Please take a rest, Ran-san. Don't force yourself to get up if you feel like you can't," he told her politely. Ran nodded at the advice.

He stood up slowly. "Get well soon, Ran-san." With those last words being said, he left the room.

**Three days ago**

_"Shizuo, Ran is in good hands."_

"I know!"

_"Then stop panicking, alright?"_

Celty and Shizuo were sitting inside Shinra's living room along with said doctor. They had explained to him about the whole situation, which received a wide-eyed look from the underground medic and a high-pitched 'what?' while the Dullahan tried to calm him down. The blond had been pacing back and forth around the living room non-stop since he arrived there earlier.

The clock ticked steadily, the two hands showing that it was a quarter past three in the morning. It was the only thing audible in the midst of stillness between them.

After a few moments of silence—except for the sound of Shizuo's steps around the room—Celty nudged her phone in front of Shinra for him to see. _"I'm feeling rather tired. I'm going to sleep now," _but later she typed again. _"…despite the fact that I probably can't sleep tonight." _Shinra was surprised just for a while, but soon nodded in response as Celty walked in a rather solemn way towards her room. 

When the headless female's back disappeared into the darkness of her room, Shinra turned around to face Shizuo that was still continuously pacing about the floor. He was, indeed, agitated, but most of all worried about the brunette's condition.

"Well, let's not beat around the bush, Shizuo-kun."

That single sentence halted every movement the restless blonde made. His slate eyes—this time without those unnecessary tinted glasses—narrowed at the words his acquaintance said. Shinra fixed his eyeglasses with his index finger, the light of the room made it look like it was shining. "Why did you bring her to a public hospital? Why didn't you bring her to me instead?"

Upon hearing the illegitimate medic's demanding question, Shizuo sighed, rubbing his temples with his big hands. "That was Celty's decision—she really is a stubborn one," he paused only to huff another breath out of his lung. Then his hands reached inside his pocket, trying to grab the pack of cigarette he always brought. "She didn't want you to be involved in this matter." He finished before lighting up the tobacco roll with a lighter. "She is worried. Is that enough for you, Shinra?"

The brown-haired doctor's stern face immediately softened after he listened to Shizuo's remark. A smile slowly curled into his countenance. "That is more than enough for me, Shizuo-kun."

The next day was yet another part of Ikebukuro's sequence—dads go to work, moms go shopping, children goes to school… but it wasn't the same to a certain blonde, an underground young doctor, and a headless female rider.

Fortunately it was Tom Tanaka's day off. Thanks to that, Shizuo didn't have to go to work. Celty wouldn't go anywhere, and Shinra unplugged everything in the house—internet cables, computers and other electronic appliances too. They were there, only the three of them, alone in Shinra's flat, secluded from the outside world. Shizuo spent the night there. Contrast to the hustle and bustle of the crowd beneath them, the atmosphere in the living room was silent. The three of them sent blank stares upon the marble floor, as the critical situation pressed their minds to think more.

"Ran isn't safe." That was a statement by Shizuo.

"We know," and that was an agreement sounded by Shinra, representing Celty's opinion as well.

There were a few minutes of silence before Celty typed on her PDA. _"Should we move her back? It'll be safer if we keep her elsewhere," _she proposed. Shinra was quick to respond at Celty's words. "It's only been a day. Ran hasn't fully recovered from her wounds yet, assuming that they were pretty deep. It might take a week or two for her to fully heal." He explained. "So we have to wait…" Shizuo added quietly. Celty and Shinra wasn't sure whether the sentence was a statement or a question, but Shinra answered 'yes' anyway.

Another breach of silence emerged.

"What do we do know?" It was Shinra.

_"I'll ask someone to watch over her until she regains consciousness."_

"Who, Celty?"

Winter would be coming in a few days. The trees are bare without any leaves. Tomorrow the Raira Academy students should wear their winter uniform until winter break arrives. Ryuugamine Mikado, like all other Raira students, was still wearing their usual blue blazer with his tie on—this time with a thick scarf around his neck. The air is chilly, especially when the sun starts to set. It was that time of day when Mikado parted ways with Masaomi Kida and Sonohara Anri, his childhood friend and his secret crush.

On his way home, he heard a familiar neigh and the source of the sound wasn't too far away. Looking ahead, he saw the Headless Rider—no, Celty riding her bike, slowing down when she spotted Mikado. The boy stopped near the fountain before him. He was in South Ikebukuro Park, which is usually crowded with people, but somehow it wasn't that day. Celty pulled over and got down from her engineless motorcycle, approaching the Dollars' leader with her PDA ready.

_"Can I ask you a favor?"_

It was a straight-forward question, and the high school student was frazzled by it. Nevertheless, he tried to respond without stuttering—an attempt that failed miserably. "W-why all of a sudden, C-Celty-san?" he asked back. The Dullahan typed again on her black gadget. _"It's important and may risk someone's life." _After showing it to the boy, she typed again.

_"This concerns Ran Ryogo's life."_

**Present Time**

A winter uniform-clad boy that was Mikado exited through the main entrance of Raira General Hospital, which was just a short walk from his school. He just visited Ran Ryogo, something he does every day since two days ago when Celty had asked him to. Letting out a visible breath, he rearranged the scarf around his neck. It was just the beginning of winter and he was already shivering from the cold air, which, by the way, became colder…

He looked ahead and understood the reason why the atmosphere changed. There stood Orihara Izaya, one of the people that Kida warned him not to get involved with, still wearing the fur-trimmed jacket as if the raven had been waiting for him to pass by.

"Yo, Mikado-kun." The informant casually greeted, while said boy replied with a slight bow. "Hello, Izaya-san," Mikado unsurely replied. Izaya smirked knowingly. "So… I've been spotting you entering and exiting Raira General Hospital lately. Who got sick?" He asked with a smug face.

The boy kind of expected Izaya to ask him that question, since he was an exceptional informant. But still he was surprised by the question. Inwardly he was experiencing a dilemma.

_Should I tell him? Would Celty-san get angry if Izaya-san knows about this?_

"Oh, uh… I was just visiting a Dollars member… He got… hurt the other day," Mikado answered uncertainly. But one thing he was certain of was he was a bad liar. _Just as bad as Celty-san, for a concrete comparison_, he thought. At his retort, Izaya chuckled rather darkly.

"Well, I'll buy that for now, Mikado-kun." The auburn eyed male patted Mikado's shoulder. "See you around."

As soon as the skilled information broker walked away, Mikado flipped his cell phone open and sent a text to Celty's phone number that he got from her two days ago.

_I think Izaya-san knows about Ran-san already, Celty-san. He asked me about what was I doing in the hospital, but I lied to him about a Dollars' member getting hurt. What should we do?_

The boy was afraid that he made a mistake. Orihara Izaya was an expert when it comes to reading human expressions. Considering the lie Mikado told him, the boy was sure that Izaya already found out the truth. He was an informant after all—and informants have their own methods at gathering information. Dark methods, anyone might add. Mikado rubbed his temple for the umpteenth time. He was really worried. What if the deed he did wasn't right? Things could be worse than it already was. Then he heard a familiar ringtone—it was a text on his phone.

_You're a bad liar, Mikado. But don't worry about it—lied or not, he'll find the truth. And I suspect that he knew already. You've been through a lot. I'll take care of this one._

At least some of his burdens were gone by the time he finished reading the message from Celty. Then Mikado made his way home.

**. . . . .**

Orihara Izaya, unbeknownst to Mikado, stood near the entrance of Raira General Hospital, watching as the high school student made his way back home. He smirked and proceeded to enter the hospital. It was more or less the hospital's fault that he knew in which room Ran was treated. The building structure of the hospital itself granted him access to look at the windows through his binoculars with ease from a nearby building. For two days he spotted Mikado visiting a certain room on the third floor, the one closest to the hallway. With that in mind, he got out of the lift and walked calmly towards room 308. On the door was a small whiteboard, the name "Ran Ryogo" written on it. That seals the deal—it was truly her room.

Twisting the door knob with her right hand, Izaya entered the room. Ran was awake, but she was still lying down—the brunette suddenly turned her head around towards the door because it was opened without knocking and then she was staring at him with a sharp glare. His lips curled into a sinister smile. Upon looking at the familiar expression, Ran's green eyes narrowed, but she didn't say a word.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" The unexpected visitor said to her as he grabbed the chair and pulled it closer to the bed.

"Why are you here?" She retorted, but her glare was not as hard as before. Instead she gripped the sheets in her hands harder. She sighed. It was less than half an hour since she regained consciousness, and there he was, the last person she wanted to visit her—Orihara Izaya. Now, what else would he want from her?

Izaya folded his arms on the bed, leaning forward. The new position made him closer to her, much to Ran's discomfort. "Just what were they thinking?"

"Huh?"

The informant's smirk grew. "Just what were Celty and Shizu-chan thinking?" This time his head was resting on a palm. Ran's defiant stare came back as her green eyes were pinned to him, trying to intimidate him. "Why did they bring you to a public hospital? Weren't they aware that those people are still after you? That you could possibly be kidnapped again—and possibly brainwashed? Don't they care?"

She scoffed and him as those forest green orbs narrowed dangerously. She knew what he wanted, and she wouldn't let him have his way.

Izaya returned that glower of hers with a simple smirk.

A few minutes passed after their little 'glaring contest'. Well, it wasn't even glaring to Izaya since the man was only smirking smugly at her. She was the first to quit, as she closed her eyes and pulled the sheets further up her body. The man knew that she was getting uncomfortable in their position. Izaya stared down at her. When her eyes reopened again, she stared hard at him. "How did you know about it?"

She received a simple answer. "Because I was there."

"What?"

"Well, I wasn't on time. When I arrived, Shizu-chan and Celty brought you away already. All I got to do was hit the boss," at the end of the sentence he laughed lightly. Ran said nothing, still staring at him. "I'm not sure whether that Juan guy is alive or not, but who knows what his men will do afterwards?" He continued.

Ran scoffed yet again. "You even made some research on him?"

"Of course, I hate it when I know nothing about anything."

"What did you find out?"

"Well, I suppose you know already."

"Let's prove that statement."

Izaya smirked at her, still maintaining his previous position. "I'm sure you know a lot about him, but Izaya Orihara will always be one step ahead of you," he paused.

This informant, like any other, was good at mind games. With that occupation of his, being an expert at mind games is a must. But when it comes to him, it was totally different, since he played those games every day with everyone. But mostly with the random people he brought up the roof and not bothering to stop them from jumping—well, he was the main reason they jumped. And the first rule in mind games: it will be boring if you show up your trump card later. A situation like that is very predictable and not as effective as well.

Solution: show your biggest trump card to intimidate the opponent, thus, making them lose confidence and quit the game. Just like in poker—it doesn't matter if you have a good card or not, because ninety percent will forfeit rather than lose the match when they are in a situation when they will most likely lose.

Izaya was actually playing according to the rules, because it was _his _rules—the only reason why he wanted to join the game. He wanted to be in a game where he would _always_ win.

"Did you know that Dr. Juan Kagoyama was Dr. Juumon Sumimura's apprentice?"

He knew he won already when he saw the expression upon her face.

**. . . . .**

"That Juan; always crossing the line when it comes to this," Juumon Sumimura muttered. "Lucky you brought him here on time that night," he said, addressing the tall man that was one of the guys that kidnapped Ran. He, standing in the doorway, could only nod at his superior's words. Juan's unconscious body was laid on a white hospital bed in a secluded room, his glasses off, various machines and electrocardiograms attached to his body. The senior surgeon sighed as he sat down on a chair. "Doing a surgical operation on him was quite hard, I suppose." Not long after, he rose from his seat with a grunt, exiting the room. His mind was spinning.

"_Are you sure about this? She's your own daughter."_

"_Please reconsider this, Doctor."_

"_We can still find another experiment object, Doctor. There are still plenty of…"_

"_Just do it. I don't care."_

A/N: One simple, commonly used adjective for this chapter: **BAD**.


	18. Of Hairs and Glares

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Izaya/OC/Shizuo, eventually Izaya/OC

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: Warning, this story contains a somewhat failed fluff. Thanks to **TheOdaFan **and **AkatsukiUchihaGirl44 **for reviewing/ subscribing/ putting Complicated Complication in your favorites!

Chapter 18 – Of Hairs and Glares

After a few seconds of silence, the brunette narrowed her eyes and defiantly stared up at Izaya. She really wished she could slap that smug look on his face, but she still felt the pain stinging her abdomen. Izaya returned the glare with his trademark smirk as his auburn eyes glinted in amusement. _Dang it_, she thought, _so that's why he was so persistent when we fought back then_. Informants really _do _have their own ways at obtaining information. And this man was an exceptional informant, too—one of the people you should evade in the city.

From the look in his eyes, Izaya was trying to read Ran's mind. The brunette did anything but look away from those red hued orbs gazing back at her. It looked like a childish glaring game, but to them it was an attempt to read what the other was thinking about. He could tell that her mind was connecting the dots while he looked at her deeply.

The seemingly eternal silence broke as Izaya spoke out to her first, the everlasting conceited smirk still plastered on his features. "See? I told you~" he teasingly said as he watched her eyes narrow. "I bet," the raven continued, "that you're wishing you could sit up so you can punch me in the face. You can't however, and you resent that." There was a pause. "Am I right?"

Usually his previous victims went into a state of panic whenever he started to point out exactly what they were thinking—but with this wounded brunette it was different. She didn't show anything on her face, except that her eyes were still narrowed. _She's good at hiding emotions, but still, she's not the best_. At his own thought, Izaya grinned wider. As for Ran, she tiredly closed her eyes and sighed.

"Go away," the girl simply said with her green orbs still concealed by those eyelids.

The black-haired man scoffed at her words. "You sure are interesting."

Her eyes fluttered open, her gaze straight at his own pair. "You say that to everyone."

"True, but so far you are the most amusing I've ever met," he countered with boyish glee as he spun around maniacally as he stood up, "so don't expect me to stop bothering you." With that being said, he made his way towards the door, turning around the knob to open it.

He looked past his shoulder and smirked. "See ya."

Ran was left alone with her own thoughts.

_Shizuo, please kill him soon._

**. . . . .**

Celty would sigh if she could. Ryuugamine Mikado had sent her a text, saying that the niggling sociopath found out where she was being treated. She wished that she could visit her every day in the hospital, but she was the urban legend. Having a female headless motorcyclist inside a public hospital wasn't really a good idea. Celty kept thinking—_what can I do to help her?_

Then she found the initiative. The Irish still remembered where they saved Ran three days ago, despite the dark midnight hour. It wasn't far from Shinra's apartment, in other words, near the Sunshine Building. But still, the area was pretty quiet there. Not even gangsters were there at the hour they usually hang out. Celty approached Shinra that was standing by the coffee maker, grinding the brown beans patiently.

_"I'm going out."_

This made Shinra quite surprised. The doctor asked back in a nosy tone, "Where?"

Her hand hesitated for a while when she started to type on the PDA. _"To take a look at the crime scene yesterday. It's quiet close from here, so I'm going to check."_

"But Celty, it might be dangerous!"

_"I know. I'll be fine, Shinra. Keep an eye on the Dollars' website, will you?"_

"But Celty—"

The female exited the room, halting Shinra from finishing his words.

In the dark apartment he rented, Mikado sat patiently in front of his computer. The screen was showing the homepage of Dollars, which included recent updates and the member counter. He kept an eye at the latter. But then he glanced at the clock—it had exactly been 21 minutes since he first watched the member counter intently, and yet, nothing happened. Mikado sighed. First, his chat friends were concerned about the decreasing number shown on the counter, and now it supposedly stopped working? The high school boy was curious. Black Hole, the new color gang, 'absorbed' members from various gangs including Dollars.

_What now? Could it possibly be that the Black Hole already has sufficient members now, and they stopped 'absorbing'? _The teenage boy assumed uncertainly.

Deciding that the member counter won't budge for a while, he then tucked himself on the mattress and slept. Before he drifted to sleep, he made his mind that he would tell Ran about this matter tomorrow.

The source of light in the dimly lit office was Izaya Orihara's computer. Said raven was smirking at the bright screen. He leaned back at his rotating chair, hands behind his head. After a few minutes in the position, he rose and walked towards his favorite plaything at the time—his chessboard. Well, not exactly a _chess_ board. The board usually was filled with various pieces from shogi*, Othello, or chess, but it was not. He grinned in a rather malicious way as he sat on the couch.

There were only two pieces of chess on the board—a black king and a white queen—facing each other at the center of the wood panel.

**. . . . .**

After a great effort at asking around, Celty learned the fact that the man's surname was Kagoyama (it was written on his apartment door, said locals), and that he was a surgeon working in a hospital. She didn't know which hospital since some said that the man was very distant, but she suspected that it was Narita Medical Center, in Shibuya. The female motorcyclist was still wondering about his purpose at kidnapping Ran. But she was sure of one thing—she needed to tell Ran about this. Before she rode on Shooter, Celty sent a text to Mikado.

_You don't need to see Ran for me today, Mikado. I'm going to visit her in person. Thank you for everything._

She finally arrived at Shinra's apartment, walking towards the lift after getting off Shooter to park the motorcycle. Celty didn't expect a reply from Mikado, yet he did. When she opened the message, it was rather unexpected for the female.

_But I was going to tell her about something._

_ That boy—what does he want with her, actually? _She wondered, despite the absence of her head. Nevertheless, she typed a reply and sent it back to the determined high school student.

_Well then, let's just visit her together after school. I'll be waiting._

**. . . . .**

He could see his own visible breath. Mikado sighed, complaining secretly to himself about the cold weather. The boy rubbed his hands together in order to get warmth—the season was getting frostier as the days passed. The usual ensued; he parted ways with Kida and Anri, and proceeded towards Raira General Hospital that wasn't far away. But this time it was slightly different. At a nearby railing, a familiar helmeted figure was leaning back, a black motorcycle parked not far away. It was the urban legend, Celty Sturluson, waiting for him to arrive. They agreed to meet up in front of the hospital earlier that day.

_"Let's go in." _The Dullahan typed as soon as Mikado was near. The only response from the boy was a nod, and the two got inside the hospital. Surely, people were looking, but luckily there were no youths in the lobby, which means no squealing or camera flashes from their cell phone. The people there were only staring—and probably wondering, 'What is the Headless Rider doing here?' or something like that.

Mikado and Celty simply ignored the gazes, but it was a rather hard task to the former, as he was sweating and shifting eyes along their way towards the elevator.

After going up the elevator and some walking, the two reached a hallway. From here, Mikado led Celty towards a room—number 308—and knocked at the door. The female noticed a board below the room number, with letters written 'Ran Ryogo'. They entered the room.

There, Ran was lying down on her hospital bed, eyes towards the door widened as she saw her friends instead of the usual nurse providing medication. "What are you doing here?" the brunette's question was directed to Celty, Mikado was sure. Yet, the Dullahan grabbed a chair and sat beside the bed. The high school student copied her actions. _"I found out something about your abductor—his surname is Kagoyama. It seems like he works for NMC." _ Celty typed on her PDA. Ran scoffed and replied simply, not meaning to show off, "I know more than that, Celty. We go to the same high school. His name is Juan."

At the statement, both Celty and Mikado were surprised. "Yesterday, to my disappointment, Izaya visited." Ran continued. "He said that Juan… was my father's student." She said, as if she was not used to the fact. Her green eyes shifted towards the window. "My father could be the one that wanted to abduct me, and probably scrutinize me again," she used the term other than 'dissect' this time.

"In the mean time, I'll help you find information too." Mikado suggested, followed by a polite nod from both Celty and Ran. "Thanks for everything, Mikado," said the brunette sincerely. It was the boy's turn to reply with a determined nod of his head.

_"Mikado came here to say something to you, too." _Celty nudged the phone so that the wounded girl could see. They both looked at Mikado. "Um," he nervously began, "I watched the member counter on Dollars' homepage yesterday. It didn't budge at all, when usually the number decreases each passing minute." He explained.

Something hit him all of a sudden, and he proposed the newly found assumption to the brunette. "Maybe your abductor has something to do with this?" The boy said again.

Flashback about the night she was shot flooded Ran's mind. Before the bullet entered her body, she asked Juan about his connection with Black Hole, while she was sure that he was affiliated with NMC. _The crap didn't answer_, she angrily thought as her fist clenched. "I asked him once, but of course, he wouldn't reply," her voice turned into the low and dangerous kind.

_"I'll find out more about it." _Celty countered. _"I'll tell you as soon as I learn something." _Ran nodded a 'thank you' to Celty, while said female and Mikado sat up from their seats. The Dollars' admin respectfully bowed at her. "Get well soon," he said. Once again the brunette nodded. She watched their backs until the door closed with a slight 'click'.

She sighed and closed her eyes, pondering. _Maybe Juan was the one behind the 'absorption' of Dollars' members, _she silently assumed. _What was his goal anyway—to bring me back to that asshole of a father? _Ran wondered as her deep green eyes looked at the window.

The comforting silence was abruptly cut off by the sound of the creaking door, revealing a very familiar figure. The last person she wanted to see, Izaya Orihara. Ran let out another sigh for the umpteenth time that day. "What do you want?" She said, making sure that he knew she was genuinely annoyed by the intermittent visits he paid her. The raven smirked at her.

"Good afternoon," he playfully greeted. Ran glared at him, her eyes brightening. It was some kind of a natural phenomenon that happened every time she got angry. _Just like cats, _Izaya smirked wider at the silent thought. "What are you smirking at?" she retorted sharply at him, addressing his weird behavior. The informant shook his head before saying it's nothing with a small quiet laughter. Just like the previous visitors, Izaya grabbed a chair and sat beside her hospital bed, his hands on the sheets causing him to lean forward, invading her personal space. _This again? _She silently cursed. _Seriously, what is with him? _Ran inwardly questioned while she closed her eyes and let out an exasperated groan.

Green eyes shot open when she felt slim fingers slowly brushing the bangs that were slightly messed up. Izaya chuckled at her reaction.

"What the hell are you doing!" She bellowed at him, but it didn't stop the man as he continued to play with the streaks of her hair, some of the sprawled over the pillow. "Quit doing that, Izaya!" she tried to keep his busy hands back but the raven _just_ had to hold both of hers down. Now his right hand pinned both of hers, almost at the edge of the bed, while his left continued to play with her hair.

"Hahaha," he let out a short laugh. "Just stay still, will you? If you sit up it will be painful," he teased. As he proceeded to brush her brown hair with his fingers, she glared up at him, unable to do anything since her hands were pinned by one of his.

_Such a creep,_ she thought. Unwillingly, her cheeks were slightly pink as blood rushed up to her face. Izaya couldn't let this be unnoticed. And of course, being the manipulative man he was, he used this against her.

"You're blushing now?" He looked down at her, the smug sneer providing view of perfect white teeth. She swore his eyes glinted in amusement—or satisfactory?—as he continued to teased her.

"You're too close," it was an honest answer. She glared up at him.

Izaya didn't say anything—he merely grinned—and without a word he continued to play with her hair, tracing them one by one, running his fingers through them, patting, combing. The bastard, as Ran would address him, seemed like he was enjoying the whole thing. No, he was _obviously _enjoying it. Izaya wasn't the type of person who would let this kind of chance pass by. It was the only way he could tease her without receiving a punch—she was still wounded anyway.

The man promised to himself that he would do this to her many more times.

Ran tried to break free of his grip, only to wince at the slight pain in her abdomen, and Izaya would chuckle deeply. After several attempts, she gave up. It felt more painful the more she tried. Cursing her wounded self, Ran glanced away from Izaya. Said man was still busy entertaining himself by playing with the streaks of her bangs and hair.

Past the minutes of silence (that seemed more like hours to Ran), he spoke up. "You're _so_ interesting." This time the man grinned. "You say that to everyone," she retorted the words exactly like she did the day before. He decided to play along with her game of déjà vu. "True, but so far you are the most amusing I've ever met," Izaya replied, just like yesterday.

"So don't expect me to stop bothering you." He ruffled her hair, the sudden move causing the girl to shut her eyes and grunt in annoyance. "See ya," he said before he got up and exited the room.

The pink still tainted her cheeks a little, but Ran was relieved that the sociopath was finally gone. _What's up with him, really? _She wondered. Not long after, a young nurse that usually treated Ran entered. They chatted sometimes, and had become acquaintances because of their same age. She smiled cheekily at her aggravated patient.

"Was that your boyfriend? He's kinda cute," she teasingly said.

"He _is not!_" Ran immediately snapped. _What's cute about him anyway! _

*shogi = Japanese chess

A/N:

I can't help the fluff!

Was that even a fluff, anyway? FYI, I suck at fluffs. My Avatar: The Last Airbender story is a concrete example.

And the nurse… just ignore it, that's a spur-in-the-moment kind of thing -_-

You know what? I kinda like this chapter the best… which is kinda creepy. Hahaha.


	19. Not a Chance

**Title **: Complicated Complication

**Author **: grammarsucks

**Genre **: Romance, Mystery

**Rating **: T for language. (Rating might change)

**Summary **: Set between season 1 and 2, some spoilers for season 1. Ikebukuro gets nastier—a new color gang by the name Black Hole was formed, and had attracted many members including members of other gangs, like Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Meanwhile, a girl that left came back to the city, and apparently she has ties with many people in Ikebukuro. Izaya/OC/Shizuo, eventually Izaya/OC

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! Ryohgo Narita does.

**A/N **: You made me laugh hard with your review, **LMAO**! Also big thanks to **Z**, **lalalalighters**, **LookAtTheBeautifulDay**,** Risa Varleen**,** Haylensia**,and **theaaa-chan**—reading those email notifications made my day. Thank you so much, dear readers.

Chapter 19 – Not a Chance

The young man grunted as he tried to sit up, his eyes shut tight at the pain he felt. The action was prevented by an older man that was his teacher. Juan leaned back with a defeated sigh. "You're still injured, you shouldn't move for a while," Juumon Sumimura told him, "Whoever hit you must be a very skilled person. He aimed for your heart—some of your bones went wrong—and you could've been dead." The injured apprentice's eyes were narrowed when his tutor mentioned about the wrongdoer that caused the bruise on his chest. Said tutor was still wearing his doctor's coat on, a white hat covering his grey hair. He looked like he was going somewhere.

Juan noticed the elder's clothing, despite of the fact that he wasn't wearing his glasses. "Are you going somewhere?" he queried politely, aware that Juumon was the one that treated him. The man answered with a small nod.

"But… where?" He asked once more, but his teacher's back was already facing him, ready to walk through the door.

The senior surgeon retorted after a few moments of silence without looking back. "I'm going for a walk."

With that said, he closed the door and left, leaving the wounded student alone.

It had been a while since his last stroll out in the city. There were not much to see, though—all people could see was tall buildings, making the sky in Ikebukuro seem more contracted. Juumon didn't bother the smog-crammed air of the city; instead he lowered his hat to cover the aging face of his.

Time wasn't a serious matter to the city. Ikebukuro would always be crowded with people, save for a few secluded dark alleys or districts, no matter what time it is. Grey dull people walked thru and fro, attending their own businesses, keeping a straight emotionless face as the traffic pedestrian light went green. Juumon didn't have a certain place to go; he just wanted to wander around alone with his thoughts.

But he wasn't alone—nobody really was in this city, actually, since there was a certain prying informant watching over everything in Ikebukuro. The person that claimed that he loved a place where people dwell, a person named Orihara Izaya. With that particular binocular of his, the raven spied on everything he believed was going to be appealing in his eyes. The jacket-wearing man's grin widened as he spotted a face that he only saw in his documents before—it was his favorite human's father, Juumon Sumimura.

He took a glance at the wall clock in the third-floor café; it was noon. He still got four more hours until his next appointment, which was to visit Ran. Izaya let a small chuckle out. As he walked down the stairs towards the exit, he decided that he would stalk Sumimura-sensei for a while…

**. . . . .**

Shizuo blew the smoke from his mouth. Nothing went insurmountable today, something that rarely happened to the blonde, and he was grateful for it. He hated violence. Again, he blew the smoke. Tom Tanaka, his employer, had told him earlier that his job was done for the day, thus went away, leaving the bartender-dressed bodyguard alone in the horde of people.

To be honest, Shizuo was feeling quite bored. And so, since day-offs were rather infrequent, he decided to pay Ran a visit. It had exactly been five days since said brunette was hospitalized in Raira General. After the incident he felt kind of guilty for not being able to protect her properly. Well, he knew it wasn't exactly his fault, but still…

"Damn," he muttered under his breath, tossing the cigarette away. As he put his tinted glasses back on, Shizuo then made his way towards the hospital.

At the same time, Shinra sat on the couch, doing nothing in particular. It was one of his peaceful days with Celty, alone in the apartment without Shingen's disrupting presence. "How was Ran the other day?" he asked, hands hidden inside his lab coat. Celty typed her reply on the PDA. _"She seemed fine, but she's still incapable of sitting up." _After showing the text, said female typed again. _"Oh, she told us that Izaya visited her the other day... obviously she was not pleased." _Shinra chuckled at this.

_"Oh, and Shinra, can you help me out?"_

"Sure. What can I do for you?"

The Dullahan proceeded to type once again. _"We found out that the culprit is named Juan Kagoyama—he's a surgeon. Are you familiar with that name?" _She asked hopefully.

The illegitimate doctor's eyes widened at the sight of the name. "Yes, I surprisingly am. But I've never made contact with him or anything like that. He's pretty famous among us underground medics," he elaborated. Celty repositioned her seat as she listened attentively at the brunette's words.

"Some underground medics even know him personally, but one thing we're sure of is that Kagoyama-san is up to no good. After Yagiri Pharmaceuticals merged with the foreign company Nebula Inc, reports of missing people lessened. Not long after it increases yet again, this time not in Ikebukuro, but in Shibuya."

_"Shibuya is Ran's birthplace. She mentioned about a hospital where her father worked for long ago. It's called Narita Medical Centre."_

In a serious manner, Shinra nodded, reading Celty's silent hypothesis. "Juan Kagoyama might work there," he stated. After a long stern stillness enveloped the room, Shinra questioned. "Are you planning to go there?" he said. The female typed her answer. _"Maybe, but not now. I need to find out more about his connection with Black Hole." _She answered.

The male thought for a while. "It may be the best for now," he retorted, "Anyway, do you know anything about Ran's father? The image of him is still hazy right now, so it would be nice if we know something about him," Shinra continued. Celty slowly shook her missing head.

Letting out a tired sigh, Shinra leaned back on the couch.

**. . . . .**

The blonde received stares as he entered Raira General—the strongest man in Ikebukuro, Shizuo Heiwajima, just entered a hospital. It was easy to ignore them with those tinted glasses on. He approached the receptionist, demanding Ran's room number in a low voice. After his business in the lobby was done, Shizuo walked towards the lift and pressed the 'up' button.

He got in the metal box alone. It didn't take too much time for him to get to the third floor. Shizuo strode quickly towards the hallway and stopped when he spotted the number 308. Just to confirm, he glanced at the board with her name written on it, and knocked the door before entering the room.

Ran's green eyes shifted from the open window beside her to the door, looking at the person that just came in. She was rather surprised, since her visitor was the renowned Shizuo. He took off the unnecessary tinted glasses, revealing slate orbs. "Yo," the man greeted in a low voice.

"Hi," she answered simply, her face revealing no certain emotion as usual. He grabbed a chair and sat beside her bed, looking down at her lying form. "Feeling better yet?" the blonde asked, not bothering to smoke as he knew it would mind the wounded Ran. She nodded slightly. "Yeah, but I still can't sit up yet," the girl let out an annoyed sigh. Anyone in her state would feel the same way. Not being able to do something fittingly felt disturbing. Shizuo put his hands on his knees.

Shizuo cleared his throat. "Sorry," he awkwardly mumbled.

This evidently astonished the brunette. "Huh? Why are you apologizing?" she confusedly questioned him.

The uncomfortable feeling still remaining, the blonde rubbed the back of his head. "Because I… couldn't protect you," he answered without meeting her gaze. She let out a breath and shrugged.

"It's okay," Ran quietly answered. "You should make it up for me, though."

Hearing the word made Shizuo's attention more focused. He would gladly make it up to her in order to shoo away his guiltiness, but it was out of character for Ran to ask for something. "Of course," he answered, although he was still rather perplexed.

Ran stifled a small laugh upon the sight of Shizuo's current state. It was her first time witnessing him like this. Nevertheless, she answered. "Smack some sense into Izaya would you?" she requested. "Don't kill him yet, though." The brunette quietly added.

This made Shizuo even more confused. "Why?" he asked for the umpteenth time. Ran's gaze was focused out the window, looking at the midday sky. After letting out a breath, she countered. "He's still useful for the time being. You know that he is an exceptional informant—he could help me find out more about this whole messed up thing," she paused and turned back to look him in the eye, face still showing no expression.

"After this is all over, you can do whatever you want with him."

The blonde nodded quietly. "I know," he replied, still eyeing her. Ran wetted her dry lips. _Back to small talk_, her mind told her. "What happened to Tom today? You got a day off or something?" Shizuo sighed, tilting his head to one side. "Not quite—we just finished early." He answered.

At the remark, Ran nodded. "Thanks for visiting," she said.

"It's nothing, really," Shizuo quietly replied.

Silence enveloped them once again, this time longer.

"…sorry," he spoke again.

The brunette let out a small laugh. "It's okay, really.

The two were quiet for the second time, shrouded in comfortable peace. It didn't last long, though, as the young cheeky nurse opened the door with a creak and poked her head inside. "Ran-san, it's time for your medication," she called out, making two heads turn to see her. Ran looked back at Shizuo. "Thanks again," she said. The blonde nodded before getting up and walked out of the room. The nurse closed the door.

"So!" the white-clad woman cheerily greeted. "If the cute guy from yesterday wasn't your boyfriend, is this the one?"

Ran gagged. "No! Now give me my medicine—"

"But Shizuo Heiwajima is pretty cute too, you know!"

"Just give me my medicine, dammit!"

**. . . . .**

After more or less thirty minutes of tracking the old man, Izaya secretly knew that Juumon wasn't heading anywhere in particular. He had followed him to Ikebukuro West Gate Park, which was fairly quiet that day. Juumon was sitting on a bench across the fountain. Although his gaze was towards the man-made waterfall, he wasn't looking at anything specific—in other words, zoning out.

The sneaky raven chuckled gently as he watched through his binocular, he didn't know old people could zone out at times.

Izaya then decided to initiate the first step. Putting his binocular into his jacket's pocket, he reached for a wallet in the other one. Opening the brown leather case, he pulled out a small picture of Ran that he kept inside, just like boys secretly placing a photo of their crush inside their wallet. Once again, Izaya chuckled as he examined the photo. Ran's eyes weren't facing the camera; she didn't realize she got snapped at the time. This portrait was, yet again, one of his minions' doing. Or specifically, he ordered the subordinates to do so.

Izaya Orihara would always get what he wanted, no?

Holding the photo in one hand, he slipped his wallet back into its respective place. Then he proceeded to approach Juumon Sumimura that was sitting a few yards away.

Said old man realized the informant's arrival when he said 'excuse me' in a normal tone, unlike his usual sing-song voice. Juumon turned his head to the right, looking at the young man that had approached him. Both of Izaya's hands were behind his back. "Have you, sir, by any chance," he started, "seen this girl somewhere?"

The hand that was once hidden then stretched out to hand the photo for the unsuspecting Juumon to see. _Lucky he isn't familiar with me_, the raven snickered inwardly at his own notion. Izaya examined the man's facial expression as he looked at the photo. Wrinkled eyes widened when Juumon recognized that the person in the photograph was his own daughter, Ran Ryogo.

Izaya noticed that the old man recognized her face, and continued to the next step. "I've been searching for her these days," he said with a fake worried look, "but it seems like she went missing." The young man then looked at the elder. "Considering the dangers in this city…"

He smirked without Juumon knowing.

"…could something happen to her?"

**. . . . .**

Ran examined the wall clock that was hung across her hospital bed. It was already four past fifteen in the afternoon. If her theory was right, a certain someone would visit her around this time of the day. Her lying form sighed—she hoped that the sick man wouldn't bother to visit her.

"_So don't expect me to stop bothering you."_

The sentence he said twice for the past two days bugged her a lot. She wished that he wouldn't mind her anymore, but as the raven had proclaimed, she was (unfortunately) the most amusing person to him.

The door creaked open, to her dismay. There stood Izaya Orihara, as usual.

"Hi!" He greeted cheerily. "Have you been better?" The fur-jacket wearing man moved the chair closer to her bed and went back to the space-invading position he had posed for the past two days. She let out a sigh, eyes not bothering to meet his. "What do you want this time?" She asked, making Izaya grin. "I'm glad you asked," he remarked.

Suddenly his hand played with her hair again, making her head turn around to look at him fiercely with eyes narrowed. "Stop doing that!" she yelled at him. But of course, the raven didn't even bother to do as she said. He was having too much fun teasing the girl. Besides, he would take advantage of _her _disadvantage, which was being wounded, to fulfill his amusement. Izaya began brushing her bangs to the side with his fingers acting like a comb. They trailed down her brown hair that was splayed over the pillow.

Then, instead of giving a (according to Ran) smart-ass retort, he said, "I met someone interesting today."

"Well I do hope whoever it is you met was more interesting than me," she countered.

The raven haired man chuckled, still playing with her hair. He decided to get to the point. His grin widening, Izaya said:

"It was Juumon Sumimura."

**. . . . .**

Said surgeon didn't look happy when he got back to Juan's room. Noting the upset face, the apprentice decided to ask his teacher about it. "What happened, Sensei?"

He was quiet for a bit. "What did you do to the girl the other day, Juan?"

It was the young man's turn to be quiet. Juumon continued. "Answer me," he sternly commanded.

"…I shot her."

"Despite the fact that I asked you not to hurt her?"

Juan tried to find reasoning. "But she tried to escape, Sensei!"

He didn't buy that. Juumon folded his arms in front of his chest, eyes glaring at his student. "An order is an order, Juan. And you failed," said the old man in his lowest, most threatening voice. Juan glanced away, not bold enough to meet Juumon's eyes that were blazing with anger. Then there was silence.

"I'll do better next time."

"There will be no next time for you," he replied right after Juan said his last word. "I'll be the one taking care of matters from now on."

With that said, he exited the room.

A/N:

More Juumon this chapter, but I still think this is no good…

I'm feeling rather angst-y these days, and I hope it doesn't affect my writings, but if it does… I'm sorry…

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone that reads this note! Hope you all have a great start at 2012!

Sincerely, grammarsucks.


	20. Mission Possible

**Disclaimer **: The series and its characters are not mine, they belong to Ryohgo Narita.

**A/N **: God, I'm so sorry **lalalalalighters **I misspelled your name. So sorry :(

Thanks a lot to **RYNO IV**, **UltraBeing**,** Fallen Prince-sama**,** RoxasxSora 4 ever 3**, **amaya-tsuki-chan**, and **beebistar** for the review, Story Alert, or Story Favorite. I even got a Favorite Author notification, thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**IMPORTANT**:

I assume you all forgot that I mentioned Mikado parting ways with Kida and Anri before—which means there is a Kida in this story. So I hope that you're not confused by Kida suddenly appearing here… but he's mentioned at the chapters before. Also, I need your opinion concerning the new summary. Review please? Thanks in advance.

Chapter 20 – Mission Possible

Her eyes were fixed on his.

He grinned mischievously, obviously planning something.

"Come on!" Izaya faked a childish whine, his lips pulled into a pout just as juvenile. "At least you should _act_ as if you're surprised, Ran-chan!" He leaned closer towards her bed as he glared down, still playing the bogus-sulking act. Said brunette sighed at the suffix he used after her name. "Don't call me that," the young woman protested in a sharp tone. She received a mere chuckle from him as a response.

He leaned his head on a hand, tilting it to the side. After a few silence, he finally retorted exigently. "You don't have anything to say?" The smirking raven was addressing the fact that he met Ran's father earlier.

She didn't answer. She merely stared.

Again, unwillingly to the very bothered female, the sneaky informant once more invaded her personal space by leaning in more towards the bed, his left hand stretched out. She glared at the slim fingers that were ready to march into her hair. Before the man could do what he usually does, Ran shooed his left hand away—

—only to have him pin hers hand onto the bed, causing a slight squeak from said furniture.

Green eyes widened at his motion, but frustration overcame surprise after a second. She grunted. "Stop doing this, you bastard," but said female didn't raise her voice. Izaya chuckled.

"First point," he said, all the while still brushing and combing and doing… unnamable things to her hair. "Don't tell someone bad—in this case, me—to stop bothering you, because they will never stop doing it if you tell them to." He paused to enjoy the scenery below him, which was a disconcerted and angry Ran. "Second point," Izaya continued without impeding his assault towards her soft brown locks, "A person like me won't let a rare opportunity like this go away." He silenced.

"I can do anything to you, and you won't be able to do anything about it."

**. . . . .**

Celty was on the internet browser—the search engine to be specific, and her lover Shinra was right beside her, sitting on the other rotating office chair. Living for twenty years with her made him used to the sight of Celty in front of a TV or computer and was able to watch it despite the absence of her head. Others might think that it was quite strange to look at.

"What are you trying to do, Celty?" the bespectacled brunette asked as he scooted closer. She, instead of typing on her usual PDA, typed her words on the notepad application. _"What else? Of course I'm going to find information on Juan Kagoyama." _Then she moved the track pad of the laptop towards the browser.

"Don't!" Shinra grabbed her hand.

"_What now, Shinra?" _He could feel the annoyed tone through the typed words. Then he looked at Celty in a serious manner. "You can't trust information on the internet. They're all lies." He didn't receive a reply, thus continued. "Information that comes from the internet about Kagoyama-san are outside perspective, they don't know the _real _Kagoyama-san is behind all this—and the prime suspect concerning Black Hole."

After a few moments of silence Celty typed again. _"So that means I should… find some kind of an illegal informant?"_

"We should ask Orihara-san."

**. . . . .**

Izaya willingly told the turn of events between him and Juumon Sumimura, only to find the girl's face neutral along the story. He raised a brow and smirked at her. "What's with you and your hard-to-break mask?"

She ignored his comment and glared, making a chuckle emit from Izaya's lips. "I have a plan," he said after the small laugh.

This captured some of Ran's attention. She didn't say a word, but her eyes gestured him to continue. He did, _not _without playing with her hair again. The wounded brunette, obviously not looking happy since her hand was still pinned, growled lowly. "So," the sly informant taunted, "you would like to know the plan." That wasn't a question.

"Yes," answered Ran honestly.

His face broke into the most sinister expression—narrowed eyes and a grin, showing off those perfect white teeth of his. Izaya leaned closer to her face, which made her clear eyes narrow. "Listen up, then."

Ran did as she was told—this was her time to, personally, get revenge at what those bastards did to her, especially making her unable to escape Izaya's assault on her hair. Damn Juan and this tricking asshole sitting beside her bed, invading her personal space. Said tricking asshole leaned further but rested his head beside hers, making their cheeks touch.

She didn't feel flustered at all. Problem was her body wasn't reacting the same way as her mind. Blood rushed to her cheeks, making them tinted with a little pink. The position allowed Izaya to whisper directly into her ear.

"So sorry, Ran-chan, I'm afraid there might be eavesdroppers, so I must do this." She couldn't see his facial appearance but she was very sure that a smirk was there. Besides, what kind of reason that was? _Ridiculous_, she thought_, he's doing this for his own entertainment._

**. . . . .**

Among the silence of the night, Shinra cursed. "Why, oh why," he whispered to himself. "Why am I the one that should do this?"

The surroundings of him were very dark since it was past midnight, but he knew all too well where he was. He was in front of Juan Kagoyama's empty apartment door, kneeling while constantly fumbling with some tools. "Calm down," a man behind him—Shizuo—said. Shinra tsk-ed when he heard what his silent companion had said. "You don't understand, Shizuo-san! Just because no one else can handle these kinds of tools, now I have to do this!" He whispered fiercely.

Shizuo let out a puff of smoke from the cigarette he was inhaling. Lean

**Earlier that day, Raira General Hospital**

"So sorry, Ran-chan, I'm afraid there might be eavesdroppers, so I must do this."

"Stop telling me crap. Now what's the plan?"

As if Izaya's mouth wasn't already close enough to her ear, he tilted his head forward, almost_ kissing_ her ear. "Izaya," she growled. The raven chuckled as he wondered how long the brunette could last. Said informant then circled his left arm around her shoulder to prevent any attempts of escape. He could feel the female twitch. "Izaya, stop," snarled the female once again.

He didn't bother to give a smart-ass retort to the threatening mention of his name. "Listen carefully now." Izaya started, the smirk still plastered on his face. "I'm sure you're familiar with the… ex-stalker Harima Mika." She nodded as things began to grow serious, despite the fact that she knew the raven was still smirking as usual. "Stalkers have many special equipments, and one of such is a very useful," he paused to think of a sarcastic name, "door opener."

"Door opener? What—"

"It opens a locked door, dear~" he teasingly said.

At the elaboration of his, Ran somehow didn't remember of Izaya's mouth on her ear. She turned her head to the side in surprise, unintentionally making said raven's lips closer to the skin of her ear. "Aren't those supposed to be owned by thieves?" she asked in wonder. Izaya laughed quietly at her question, but he didn't hassle on answering it. "I apparently have connections to the stalker." He explained again.

Her eyes caught nothing but his short black hair, but Ran's quick mind was never affected by anything. "As Kanra?" she mentioned his screen name. "No, but as Nakura—we don't chat online." He casually answered, which earned another quick remark from the bound female. "Hypocrite," she muttered. For the umpteenth time in the minute Izaya laughed lightly once again. "Now, now, calm down."

The disturbing smirk was back on his face, Ran could sense it.

"So I'll borrow those fancy gears from her and let your pals do the job," Izaya said in a sing-song voice. At the statement of her comrades, she asked directly. "Exactly who?"

"Shinra and Shizu-chan. Let Shinra handle the locked apartment door, and Shizu-chan should stand by incase anything bad happens," he replied with a shrug.

"What about Celty?"

"I have another idea for her—and a few more people."

**. . . . .**

Izaya left, leaving Ran to ponder about the plans that he already set in his mind. Honestly she wasn't sure about the informant's plan. _But since Celty and the others are involved_… Ran stared at the ceiling since she still wasn't able to sit up yet. _That creep and his creepy plans. Including them in this plan is risky! Does he have a brain? _Her mind reeled. But it was Izaya—he never failed to get what he wanted. She was deep in thought while staring out the window when the door opened.

Guess who? It was the nurse. But this time she was not alone; a young female doctor that Ran wasn't familiar with trailed not far behind the tender. When Ran's and the nurse's eyes met, the latter squealed excitedly.

"Oh my god. You know, make-out sessions aren't allowed in hospitals, but since it's you and that cutie, I'll not report what happened today to our hospital director!"

The doctor quickly retorted, "And nurses aren't supposed to peek at their patients."

"Make out—what the hell? I was—"

The nurse turned to the doctor. "See, Sensei! I told you, she is totally with that black-haired guy! As we agreed on, you pay me ten thousand yen if it's the black-haired guy, and I pay you fifteen thousand if it's Shizuo!"

"Ten thousand—what the—hey!"

A groan of frustration came from the young doctor. "Okaaay, okay, I'll pay you later today. Sheesh, I was so sure she's with Shizuo…" She muttered the last part quietly under her breath.

Ran, by the time the two medics were finished arguing, was twitching furiously. Out of the many things she had to clear, there was one that bothered her most, and she was going to fix it first.

"I _did not _make out with _him_!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

**Present Time**

A silent click was heard. "There!" Shinra sighed in relief as he successfully unlocked the door using the 'stalker tools' Izaya said to Ran before. "Come on, Shizuo-san." He gestured the taller man to come inside the now opened door. Shizuo threw his cigarette into a bin nearby, since throwing it randomly might cause suspicion. The two entered the dark room.

It seemed like no one was there. Lights were off, no sounds of any living things… Shinra and Shizuo involuntarily raised their guard up. The apartment room itself had plenty of space since there was very little furniture in there. Shinra checked the ceilings in case there were surveillance cameras. After minutes of examining the place, Shinra nodded to Shizuo.

The blonde took something out of his pocket.

_"They bugged your laptop with a fake battery. Let's bug them with something else."_

_ "Stop the foreword, Izaya. What kind of something else?"_

_ "I got this special goody from Shiki-san…"_

_ "Awakusu Group? That everlasting client of yours?"_

_ "An ordinary bug, designed for camouflage. Could you tell me the ceiling color at Kagoyama-san's apartment?"_

**The same day, eight hours earlier**

_"We are all here for a briefing." _Celty typed on her PDA.

Shinra, the female Dullahan, and Shizuo were meeting at the illegitimate doctor's apartment, ready for their first mission concerning Ran. "Um, aren't you exaggerating, Celty?" Shinra uncertainly queried. Said female gave no actual response. She continued to type. _"Shinra and Shizuo will head off to Kagoyama's apartment precisely at one a.m., make sure no one sees you."_

Shizuo nodded.

Celty handed a steel box that sat beside her all the time to Shinra. _"Your job," _she nudged the phone in front of his face for him to see, _"is to break inside the apartment using this, since Shizuo can't operate it." _Shinra took the case and opened it. "This is…"

_"Don't mention its name. I feel like I'm a thief."  
><em>Silence ensued.

After a few seconds of quietness Celty began to type her words again. _"After you open the door, sneak inside and make sure there's no one or nothing watching over you. Then Shizuo will install this." _The helmeted female gave said blonde a small box—its size no bigger than a normal eraser.

Without being asked, Celty voluntarily explained. _"It's a bug. Place it somewhere undiscoverable—I suggest on the ceiling near a lamp. It's sticky, so be careful as you take it." _Shizuo nodded as he comprehended. _"When this is already placed, text me. We'll try to test the device to make sure it works properly."_

_ "That's all you need to do. But remember to stay cautious, there might be something in the apartment."_

**Present time**

"Done," the blonde murmured. He remained standing on the chair after installing the device as Celty had suggested—on the ceiling nearby a lamp. Nodding to Shinra, the doctor texted an empty message to Celty, signaling that the listening device was already positioned.  
>They waited for precisely two minutes—Shinra counted the seconds nervously.<p>

A sound came from the small sticky bugger. Shizuo tapped the microphone twice. "Oi, Celty?" he whispered lowly, his senses still in anxiety.

_"Oh, Shizu-chan~!" _The tone and the voice were highly recognizable.

Mentioned man clenched both of his fists. "Flea," he spit out the word like it was the most sinful thing on earth.

_"Now, now, be patient. Remember, we're working this out for Ran-chan~"_

"Stop calling her that."

Izaya let out a chuckle—the sound was soft through the solid yet oppressive shell of the contrivance. _"Well, little bugger is successfully installed. Mission accomplished~!" _Then there was the disturbing sound of ruffling—the kind that plastic bags produce. Silence surfaced after.

Shinra looked up to Shizuo who was still on the chair. "Set?"

"All set."

**. . . . .**

The next day was pretty normal to the unsuspecting leader of Dollars—Mikado Ryuugamine. After school day ended, said Raira student parted ways with Anri, leaving him and Kida Masaomi alone.

As they passed Ikebukuro West Gate Park, the two couldn't help but notice that there were more people in black around town. Kida whispered cautiously, "Man, they're swarming." His companion only nodded, but his face was stern.

_"Black Hole..."_

A/N:

Had a stomach ache when writing the Izaya/Ran part -_-

Please tell me what you think? Especially the part that made my stomach ached?

**LMAO**'s review gave me inspiration about the doctor. Just ignore it please.

Reviews are really appreciated. I need to know your opinion.


	21. Help?

**Disclaimer **: I don't own Durarara! It would be cool if I did though.

**A/N ** : Readers, silent or not, you rock! Thanks to **UltraBeing**, **Z**, **lalalalalightless **(no spelling errors this time!), and** kblvs2read**, **And the Awesome**, **Leyshla Gisel**, **ColorOfDarkness666**, **FrankH1992 **and **RYNO IV**. The email notifications I received really made me jump. Thank you. And silent readers—I'm not even sure that there are—I still would prefer you to review and let me know about your opinion.

I've made up my mind. **In search of a beta reader! **

Anyways, what do beta readers exactly do? I only know as far as they give suggestions to the author about writing mistakes and... Stuff? *shifty eyes*

**IMPORTANT**:

To my own disappointment, this story will temporarily be on hold from early/mid February. Why, you ask? Because of a goddamned yet deadly examination called the FINALS. Yes, I'm a senior in junior high (that sounds weird...) and this year there are SO MANY things to do. Tryouts start at, more or less, the second week of February—about the same time of my conservatory's annual concert. Then we have practical exams on the end of February and March, while school exams start at the end of March. Finals are on mid-April. So sorry for the rambling of my super-duper busy schedule and so sorry that this story will be on hold soon...

Chapter 21 – Help?

The next day Ran felt something different the second she woke up—a significant difference.

She was able to sit up without the feeling of pain in her abdomen.

And the first thing she thought because of that was: _"Great, he shouldn't be able to play with my hair again." _Feeling the dryness of her throat, she reached for the glass of water on the table and gulped it down. It felt better, since she had to ask for someone's help every time she wanted to have a drink. Her eyes wandered towards the clock. It read 8 a.m. At least she was able to keep herself alone at such an early time, she thought.

Without a warning, the door creaked open and in came the devil she didn't want to meet—Izaya Orihara.

"Oh, you're already sitting up~!" He greeted with the boyish sing-song voice of his. Her forest green eyes dubiously bore into his. _So much for a peaceful morning alone, _she thought to herself. "What do you want this early, Izaya?" She sighed. "Well, at least now you can't play with my hair anymore." The fact of it made her feel slightly content.

He clicked his tongue playfully. "You seem happy about that," Izaya said while approaching the hospital bed. "As long as you're not happy, then I will be more than happy," retorted the brown haired girl as she stared hard at the raven. He chuckled and sat down, leaning his arms on the cold railing of the bed. He rested his chin on the palm, gazing back at her. A smirk made its way to his face.

"I'm glad to see you better."

The sentence surprised the hell out of her, but thanks to (according to Izaya) the hard-to-break mask of hers, the only thing that showed her surprise was the rise of her eyebrows. Ran's quick mind knew that the sly informant she recognized wouldn't say that kind of sentence, and was able to counter his words in a flash. "Why?" she questioned.

Izaya remained quiet as if he was thinking, but the informant was still watching her. The smirk slowly faded. "I'm sure that you think that everything has their own reasons," the curious brunette continued, "or maybe this time you don't have one, Informant-sama?" she teased with a smirk.

On his face, the smirk crept back slowly. "You should call me that more often." This time it was Ran's face that slumped into an annoyed expression. Izaya chuckled at the drastic change of her face—from the victorious sneer turning into a fire of anger. "You asked why?" He smiled menacingly. "After staring at your inspiring face I finally found the answer," and now it was _his_ turn to tease her.

Her emerald eyes narrowed further, eyeing him sharply. "What?" Tauntingly, the young lady asked.

The look on the man's face was determined and sure.

"Because I wouldn't want to lose the most interesting person to me."

It was the end of their little frequent arguments at the hospital, as Ran kept silent. Her remarks were meant to keep him quiet, but in the end it was _her_ mouth that he was shutting up—and she hated that fact so much she wanted to explode. She wasn't willing to let it show, though. For a split second her focus went away from him and, being the person that easily reads another's mind, Izaya wouldn't want to let this chance slip.

Swiftly his hand made contact with the dark chocolate locks of her hair. His fingers were home.

"Izaya!" she yelled with widened eyes at the sudden action.

No matter how many times she started to shoo his hands away from anywhere near her, she failed. The brunette often questioned herself, what did she do in her past life that made her deserved this? More or less ten minutes after fighting Izaya's prying hands, her own pair was pinned down on her thighs by his right, while his left one was busy with her strands of brown.

Ran groaned in frustration. She couldn't set her hands free.

Izaya chuckled.

"I'm sorry if this bothers you, but your hair is simply too soft to forget," he teased in a low voice, emphasizing the 'soft' word. At the statement of his, Ran nearly snorted. "'I'm sorry' your ass," she murmured. "I know you don't care about how I feel being hair-violated all the time." The raven laughed. "Aw~" He cooed softly, lips making the trademark childish pout while his left hand stroked her hair slowly.

Ran decided to ignore the whole thing he was doing to her hair. She leaned to the back of the bed, willing to switch the topic. "What happened to the plan last night?" she paused, her eyes looking at her pinned arms on her clothed thighs. "You came here to tell me that, right?" the girl said again, her voice getting softer. Izaya nodded, not without gazing at her, since he was trying to read the brunette's expression. "Are Shinra and Shizuo okay?"

He smirked. She _was _the most interesting person that captured his attention. People would usually ask if the plan went okay, but instead of asking him that, she decided to ask about her friends' condition. Her concern and attention towards Shinra and Shizuo—well, especially Shizuo—was starting to make him slightly jealous. _How amusing_, he thought.

"Instead of asking about them who rarely visit you, why won't you be worried about me that always visit you daily?" He pretended to sulk again. She sighed at his childish acts. "Are they okay?" she repeated the query in a more demanding tone. "They're fine! You shouldn't worry about them~!" He replied.

A person like the brunette didn't like to rely on people, in this case, people like Izaya. But she signed a pact with the devil by agreeing to the plan—_his_ plan. She couldn't escape now, and she knew it. "So what next?" she asked, her voice not raising a single bit. She promised herself not to regret this, and no matter how cunning the raven was, she wouldn't let her friends get hurt. Especially because of her.

He hummed in thought as he nonchalantly continued to comb her hair in between his slender fingers. But she was fully aware that his thinking face was only a mask. A person as sly and manipulating as him must've thought of a plan right after the first step of it was a success. Well, even if the first step wasn't successful Ran was sure that Izaya would commence a back-up plan that he guaranteed to succeed. Izaya was that kind of person. "I think," he began after a few seconds of silence that felt more like days to the brunette, "I'll form a special team."

When he concluded the sentence, she turned her head in wonderment. "Team?" She repeated the raven's last word. Izaya nodded and smirked all at once—he had captured her attention fully.

"They'll be in charge of the bug Shizuo installed in Kagoyama's apartment."

Immediately, out of reflex, she asked. "Who?"

Her reply was nothing but a knowing smirk.

"Well, actually it has been decided already. You don't need to worry about it."

**. . . . .**

Mikado Ryuugamine sat at his usual spot near the window. He was pondering about what had happened to him hours ago.

When he exited his tattered apartment, Celty Sturluson was right below the stairs, as if she was waiting for him all along.

"_Mikado-kun. Sorry to bother you when you're about to go to school, but I actually have another favor."_

The moment she showed the PDA screen to said young high school student, he knew that she actually _was_ waiting for him all along. Rather shocked, he replied verbally. "It's okay, Celty-san. Is Ran-san fine?" He figured the problem was about Ran again. The Dullahan shook her head, answering his question. _"Well, this does have to do with her... but I guess in the end it concerns the whole Ikebukuro too."_

After he read the whole sentence, he was overtaken by surprise. At his expression she didn't _actually _see, Celty hurried typed again, but not before deleting the words she typed previously. _"Ah, it's okay if you don't want to help, I completely understand."_

"N-No, Celty-san," Mikado stuttered out. "In fact, I'm glad I could help."

_If you really want to escape from your ordinary life, you have to keep evolving,_ Izaya's words echoed in his mind.

The high school boy knew that this could be another adventure to him.

Honestly, he loved the thrill of it. And so he accepted the request for help. Celty had told him everything he needed to know—about Narita Medical Center, its suspected connection with Black Hole, Juan Kagoyama and Ran's father, and lastly Izaya Orihara's plan. "The only thing we don't know yet is why they would want to absorb Dollars' members," Mikado murmured the words Celty told him.

"What are you talking about, man?"

At the voice of someone else near him, questioning his words, Mikado screeched and turned his head sharply to look at the person. It was Kida Masaomi standing beside his desk; behind him was Anri Sonohara.

"K-K-K-Kida-kun! S-S-S-Sonohara-san!" He bellowed dreadfully. Mikado was dead shocked.

His blond companion, however, looked at him innocently for a second, and then shot him a glare. Sonohara didn't actually show any expression but worried and curious. Kida sighed at the reaction of his best friend. "You're zoning out_ again_, Mikado! Seriously, what is with you?" The ex-gang leader replied Mikado's yell with an equally loud one. Then his eyes caught something.

The dark haired flustered student was holding something in his hands, an object that looked like a bluetooth headset. Its color was jet black; a color associated to the black biker. Kida only noticed the gadget now, but it seemed like Mikado's tendency of zoning out that day was caused by the object he was holding.

Said bleached blonde sternly questioned again. "What are you holding, Mikado?"

At the direct question and due to the effect of his earlier nervous stuttering, unwillingly Mikado couldn't control himself. "W-W-What? Um, this? Oh! It's actually, um," he stuttered out again.

Being his best friend since their childhood days, Kida knew something was wrong with the raven. Anri looked at Mikado curiously as well, since the two had been getting along with each other quite quickly. "Is something bothering you, Ryuugamine-kun?" the bespectacled girl timidly asked.

Kida couldn't take it anymore. After taking a short break with Saki, he came back to school and was assigned in the same class as Mikado coincidentally. And now he treated him _that_ way? The flirty blonde regretted everything he kept away from his two best friends, the secrets that almost caused the breaking of their friendship. Anri realized that she was wrong at not being honest as well, but what about Mikado? During the rampage at the Yellow Scarves' hideout, his childhood friend _did_ mention of him being sorry about his dishonesty. _Didn't that teach him enough lesson? _Kida confusedly thought to himself. _Now he already has __a new secret_.

Kida swore he wouldn't let everything dangerous that had happened to them repeat _ever _again.

"Mikado!" He bellowed, causing the boy to half-jump from his seat in surprise. Some people that were spending their lunch break inside the class curiously stared at them. The blonde continued in a lower voice after they were silent. "It's not like I'm sticking my nose in all of you businesses, but whatever it is, it's starting to get to you." He paused, aware that Sonohara was looking at him in confusion. "Secrets nearly tore the three of us apart, and I don't want it to happen again."

After a few moments of stillness, Kida let out a weak laugh. "Oh God, that was so out of character of me," he said with a chuckle. Then he spoke to Mikado again, this time in a less serious manner. "We're going to help you although you insist us not to," Kida turned to look at Anri behind him. "Right, Anri-chan?"

The girl responded in a determined nod. Later, a soft smile appeared on her face.

Mikado blinked.

"But first I'll have to tell someone that you two are gonna help."

"Who?" Anri asked.

"It's Celty-san."

**. . . . .**

Mikado let out a sigh. "She's very considerate," he said softly, "She said it's okay for you two to help... But try to avoid anything dangerous." Only Anri comprehended his words, since she looked rather relieved, while Kida didn't get what were his two companions talking about. "Hey... I don't get it," he expressed his confusion bluntly. The dark-haired male shrugged his shoulders casually. "Well," Mikado trailed off as if he was trying to find the appropriate words, but failed.

Instead, he said, "You'll have to see it with your own eyes."

**. . . . .**

"Simon!" A certain man wearing the usual fur-trimmed coat of his approached the giant foreigner. "Oh, Izaya!" He answered with an accent very thick in his voice. "Are you going to eat sushi today? It's good!" The Russian said again in his cheerful tone with a smile plastered on his dark face. Izaya smiled half-heartedly, "Sorry, not today, Simon." The raven paused. "Instead..."

From the inside of his coat, Izaya took out two photos of Juan Kagoyama and Juumon Sumimura. "If you see these men, I'd like you to tell me immediately." He said, the smile not disappearing from his young face. "Oh, who are they, Izaya?"

At the question, the informant smirked. "They'll cause a ruckus in the city if we just let them be," then he looked around and spoke in a lower voice. "See these black-wearing people around?"

When Simon registered what Izaya said to him, his face dropped into a stern expression.

A/N:

Please review this care if you care for the next chapter—it is very crucial. Question: How will Kida react upon witnessing Celty's headless condition? Also, tell me the reason. Answer anything you like. The most suitable and reasonable reaction will be posted as Kida's reaction in the next chapter. **Until I find the ****appropriate**** and proper ****response****, I won't be updating Chapter 22. **I know that's horrible—even for me. So please help me out?


	22. Problem?

**Disclaimer** : I do not own the series Durarara! However, I own the OCs.

**Author's Note **: Thanks to **., UltraBeing****, 123anna123**and **dJhAmystery**! I am currently obsessed with Trollfaces, don't ask why. So don't blame me for the chapter's title. Oh, and... Sorry for the random things I say in every author's note. One more thing: please, I beg you, inform me if this story is copied to another website—I don't post this story _anywhere_ _else_, only on FFn. Thanks in advance.

**I still don't know how to find a beta reader. Do they come to you, or do you come to them? *weak laugh***

Chapter 22 – Problem?

It was already four in the afternoon and school was discharged for the day. As she looked at the students passing by the streets through her window, Ran was pacing around her room. Yes, Ran was _pacing_ around her room. Earlier that day when the doctor came to give her daily check up, the doctor told her that apparently she had a "speedy recovery" of some sort. And then the female medic asked her if she could stand up, or maybe even walk.

And there she was, enjoying her soon-to-be-healthy condition.

Being able to walk again without feeling the pain in her abdomen made her feel at ease. Now she could do things without constantly asking people around her for help. Sure, they didn't mind helping her, but on the contrary she _did _mind. Despite the fact that people cannot live alone, she still didn't take pleasure in relying on others.

She wasn't one to trust anybody.

It was a crucial factor, knowing that there were many secrets in Ikebukuro. She was in a city of mystery, where people cannot simply trust another and some things were better off without being known.

For example, The Slasher.

Of course she didn't know the truth about the blood-shedding Slasher that lurked around the city just awhile before her comeback in Ikebukuro. The brunette that was no longer wounded had only done as far as wondered of who the Slasher really was. But, as she had thought before, maybe the Slasher was one of the things that were better of unknown.

Ran stopped pacing all of a sudden and her face fell into a troubled expression.

_Scratch that_, her conscience said, _you _want _to know about the Slasher. _

The girl grunted and rested one of her hands on her left hip. Okay, she admitted that she was actually genuinely curious about the Slasher, but she had never really done anything to find out about it. She only assumed.

Cases that were regarded to the Slasher were so many that Ran thought the culprit wasn't an individual—it was just plain impossible. As far as she had known, no crazy person would be _that_ bold. At least he or she must've had a companion, or in Ran's language, partner in crime. _Literally_. So the only conclusion we could reach for now was that the so-called Slasher wasn't only one person, but a group of people.

Professionally speaking, it was an organization.

She would _soon _know that her assumption was almost correct.

One should only ignore the 'professionally speaking' part.

There were exactly three knocks on the door (Ran blinked several times at the sound) before it creaked open. At this time, Ran would usually suspect that the visitor was the usual _mischievous sprite_, Izaya Orihara. But there was one thing that entirely convinced her that whoever it was, it wasn't Izaya. This was good for her.

Because the bastard wouldn't even bother knocking.

Ran turned around; now her back was facing the window she had previously looked through. She saw her headless Dullahan friend standing in the doorway, one hand closing the white-painted door. "Hey," Ran greeted casually. Celty nodded, acknowledging her greeting. Said motorcyclist then proceeded to type on her PDA. _"I see that you've recovered. Thank goodness."_

At those words, she smiled. "Yeah."

Celty seemed like she let out a relieved sigh—she would if she had a head. Her fingers were working, typing the words she wanted to say on to the black gadget. _"Actually I came here so I can introduce you to the..."_ The female rider hesitated before she continued typing, _"...newly formed team."_

Ran blinked—so Izaya _did_ inform Celty about his intentions. _"Before I forget," _she continued, one of her gloved hands formed a shadow that hurled before forming an article. Ran recognized it as a wireless receiver that connects with another gadget via bluetooth correlation—a bluetooth headset. _"Keep this with you. It's already connected to the bug on default, so you should be able to hear what's going on there."_

The brunette reached her hand out so Celty could give the jet black device to her properly and nodded understandingly. "So," her mind started to form words, "who are they? The... newly formed team, I mean." She said, pausing in mid-sentence. She was rather anxious since the people who were joined in the so-called team would know the secret behind the sudden materialization of Black Hole and maybe also its connections with Narita Medical Center. But mostly she was worried if they would find out about _her_ secret.

She had decided that she had already have a lot of people that were well-aware of her painful history, those people being special friends—Izaya as an exception. Her mind started to reel; what if the new team questions about the cause of this entire ruckus? They didn't know what Juan and his other cronies—including her father—were targeting. Ran knew that they were looking for her. _She _was their main _target_.

And she was sure if anyone got in their way, they'll destroy them along with her.

_"They'll come soon."_

Ran looked out the closed window, leaning against its sill, aware that people with intentions of visiting the hospital could be seen from her room. She could see three students wearing the familiar Raira Academy uniform, entering the lobby of the hospital. Since she was three floors above, she only noticed their attire and the colors of their hair. One boy looked exactly like Mikado—she blinked when she sighted him. The other two, a blonde and another dark-haired one, soon trailed behind 'Mikado'. Judging from the shy posture of the black haired, it was a girl, while the blonde that strode confidently with ease was a boy.

Turning around, the brunette looked at another resident of the room once more. "Is Mikado one of them?"

The yellow helmeted female nodded again and typed. _"He insisted that his friends should help—well, to be exact, his friends insisted to help." _Ran couldn't help but grow curious at this. Were they just nosy students or they have other intentions behind this 'help' thing, her mind wondered suspiciously. Celty quickly noticed the change of the way her eyes gazed, despite the absence of her own head, and typed more before Ran's mind could go astray away further.

_"Actually Mikado and the two others were involved in the whole riot between Yellow Scarves and Dollars before... merely because they kept secrets from each other and started to drift away. So, the blonde didn't want it to happen again when he sensed that there was something different again from Mikado." _Celty explained.

Now leaning against the wall, Ran sighed. "Wow," she murmured, "Friends could be really sensitive towards what the other was feeling," the brunette continued with her eyes glued on the white ceramic floor, waiting until the door opened again. Celty did the same.

**. . . . .**

He groaned slightly when he leaned back.

"Feeling better already?" Juumon Sumimura questioned from his seat beside the bed. His injured apprentice nodded, contrast to his hand that was clutching his chest. Of course it still hurt—that bastard had gave him his best punch back then. Even a non-bleeding wound like his could cause internal bleeding. Lucky he didn't experience one, was what his mind told him. "You shouldn't try to sit up first," the elder said. He ignored his words as he fell silent.

With great effort, Juan managed to lean back, an action that left him with labored breathing.

After his breathing was stabilized naturally, Juan quietly asked. "What should we do next?"

The answer he received was a determined one, said with a cold and stern voice. "Let the members be. We don't need a bunch of useless people to help us." The elderly man paused; his green eyes that were shaded by his hat gave off an eerie feeling. "I'll give you a chance to make up your failure. This time only the two of us—we should be able to effectively capture her this time."

Humans could be full of pride, not wanting people to look low on them, not wanting people's sympathy, not wanting to fail despite of the fact that it couldn't be avoided. Juan was that kind of human. He failed before, he was aware of that, and now he got the chance to redeem the disappointment.

He didn't even need to _beg_ for it.

**. . . . .**

The wait lasted for a mere five minutes, then the door opened without its usual creak, revealing three high school figures. They stood there awkwardly in silence.

Anri Sonohara felt something different as she stood motionlessly in the doorway. The dark honey-brown haired woman that was leaning on the wall beside the window felt out of the ordinary than anyone else in the room—she was already acquaintances with Celty, so it was okay. But the air that surrounded her—was that her aura?—was slightly odd. Even Anri couldn't tell whether it was a good or a bad feeling. Then she tried to remember a name that one of her 'children' had reported to her. Apparently the name was pretty famous around town, and when she came back to Ikebukuro, everyone seemed to be talking about her.

Ran Ryogo. Ever since she acknowledged the name of a certain dangerous informant through the minds of her 'children', Anri swore she would never forget the names inside her their psyches that seemed important. The bespectacled high school girl reflexively eyed Ran.

Kida, after a few seconds of examining the young woman's face—somehow, unbeknownst to Ran herself—leaned to the right so he could whisper something to Mikado who was standing in the middle. "Mikado," the blonde covered his lips with his hand so the others couldn't hear what he was saying, "Who is she? She's kinda cute."

The Dollars' leader deadpanned, but later moaned in frustration. "Masaomiii..."

Said friend of him grinned from ear to ear at his best friend's reaction, but his expression became serious once more as he began whispering to him again. "No, I'm serious. Would you mind if I hit on her? Please?" This time Mikado nudged Kida's rib with his elbow in a rather harsh way. The blonde let out a pained out and rubbed the spot that hurt. "What was that for!" he bellowed.

Celty and Ran silently observed the small ruckus before them, and the latter finally spoke out. "They're the... team that you mentioned?"

The former could only nod hesitantly.

Somehow the golden trio could hear the uneasy tone in Ran's voice and immediately bowed while saying their apologies as a reaction. At the feat Ran blinked, but later her face turned into a smirk with one of her eyebrows raised—she seemed amused. Then she turned to face Celty. "Can I trust them?"

This time the Dullahan nodded without seeming unsure.

**. . . . .**

Three hours passed since Mikado and his friends, Kida Masaomi and Anri Sonohara left. They chatted for a while inside her hospital room before the three decided to go since there was nothing else to talk about. It was already night time. The sunshine that provided lighting for the people had already set, and was replaced by the blinding shine of city lights while the view of the moon was blocked by tall buildings. Among the many residents of Ikebukuro, Izaya Orihara was making his way towards Raira General. Yes, he was going to visit her that night.

Ran didn't expect Izaya to come at night of course, since he was a nocturnal creature that prowls around the city, busy stalking his target. Oh _right_, her mind drawled. _She _was his current target. Nights in Ikebukuro was far more hazardous compared to daytime, no? And yet, there he was, the smirk still plastered on his face, leaning against the closed door...

...not for long. "Wow, you sure heal fast!" He said as he approached her, skipping along the way. The mischievous smirk was already reinstated by a boyish grin—it still looked mischievous, though. Well, he was very roguish in _every_ way. _Especially in hair-violating_, Ran's inner side added in a resentful tone.

"Why the serious face?" He asked with a smile.

"I'll look like an idiot if I smile every second." She retorted nonchalantly.

Ran made her way to sit on her bed—standing up and pacing all around her room for hours wasn't a good habit. For a girl that was in serious trouble she seemed way too relaxed. As if it was a routine, Izaya made his way to the side of her bed, dragging the chair so that he could sit down. He proceeded to invade her personal space—it became a daily routine to him.

But before he could reach out his hand to play with her hair, in only one swift movement Ran pinned both of his down. A proud smile was on her face.

He decided to test her reactions—apparently by acting childish as usual.

"Aww, lemme go! I can't touch you again!" 

The brunette blushed slightly at how dirty it sounded—exactly how Izaya wanted her to react. However, Ran suddenly found a retort that could shut the troublesome informant up.

"Problem?"

**Extended ending**

While she thought it could finally shut him up, apparently it was the contrary that happened.

Izaya laughed out loudly for a good few minutes, a tear threatening to fall down his cheek. Ran merely observed the unusual scene. When the laugh finally died out—still, not entirely—he could only choke out.

"You," another chuckle he couldn't suppress, "You're really the most amusing person I've ever met."

A/N:

The prompt of this chapter is Trollface. I don't own it. Problem?

*runs away*


	23. Slowly Progressing

**Disclaimer** : I do not own the series Durarara! However, I own the OCs.

**Author's Note **: I was sure I mentioned **. **before... Oh well. Thanks to** Aoi Heart, Midnight Eternal, kblvs2read, **and** secretlovers**.

**No one voted for the poll—only one reviewed. Then again, I guess not many are reading the last chapter.**

**So I decided Kida's reaction on my own... Kinda selfish, I know. Please bear with me. **

Chapter 23 – Slowly Progressing

You all must be wondering why during their previous encounter Celty didn't reveal her headless self to the unknowing blonde, Kida Masaomi. Well, here's the story.

They were all still in Raira General after visiting Ran who was gradually healing. The four of them—Anri, Mikado, Kida, and Celty—were sitting inside the hospital lounge before they part ways. Mikado looked intently at Kida and the female Dullahan, while Kida was also staring at the female Dullahan, while the female Dullahan was also staring at Kida. In other words, they were having a staring battle, and only Anri was excluded.

Celty noticed the gazes and began to type on her PDA, _"I know what you're thinking." _She nudged the screen in front of the dyed light-colored's face so he could see. _"Come to the Sunshine Building tonight at nine. That shouldn't be a problem, right? Then I'll show you what you want to see." _With that being said, the helmeted biker rose from her seat and left, ignoring the intent looks of people inside the hospital.

Kida blinked, not having a chance to sound his agreement. Mikado patted his best friend's shoulder. "Just... don't freak out." He said. The ex-Yellow Scarves leader looked at both of his friends before inquiring them:

"So you two _have_ seen the Headless Rider before?"

The two earnestly nodded.

**. . . . .**

Izaya had left only five minutes ago. Ran was sitting quietly on her hospital bed, her hand playing with the small bluetooth headset carefully. _What to do now? _She conjectured, and then griped the listening device. The brunette slipped the receiver into her left ear and pressed the only button attached to it.

All she could hear was a quiet static, nothing else.

"Damn," she muttered her thought out loud. Ran assumed that Juan had already recovered by the time—he was with Juumon anyway—so they should be on the move now. Well, the last part was according to Izaya. She secretly speculated the same, though. They—it was referring to Juan and her crap of a father.

Then her thoughts strayed away; she was thinking of what should she do once she could get out of here. The day of her release (hell, she sounded like a framed prisoner) could be tomorrow, said her assumption. Through the window of her room she spotted more people wearing black crowding the normally quiet street. Were they after her? She thought. If they were ordered to, trying to get out of the hospital would be a pain. She'll get spotted—and all these times she thought she was not a newbie in blending with the crowd.

_Anyways, what had the creepy jerk been doing all this time? _She sighed. It seemed like she let the raven devil way too free. The flip cell phone on the table beside her bed was swiftly opened with one hand after Ran took off the wireless headset. She searched down her contact list and stopped when she found a name.

"Hello?" A low voice answered.

"Hey," Ran replied.

"You weren't around for a while. What happened?" asked a concerned-sounding Dotachin. Erika, Walker, and Togusa were surrounding the tallest man in their group, wanting to (over)hear their conversation. There was a pause from Ran. "Shizuo didn't tell you?" She finally said out. Kadota shook his head unconsciously despite the fact that his gesture couldn't be seen by her. "No," he replied. Ran sighed inaudibly. "I need your help. Pick me up in Raira General now."

At the mention of the hospital Kadota tensed. He was about to say something, but Ran cut him off. "And could you bring some heavy clothes along?" The other nosy three people were surprised to hear that. Erika and Walker looked at each other confusedly. "Heavy clothes...?" They echoed, completely befuddled by Ran's words from the other end of the line. Their attention was drawn back by Kadota's sigh.

"I don't know what kind of trouble you're in, but we'll help you."

He somehow could sense her smile through the phone. "Thanks."

**. . . . .**

"W-whoa," Kida let out a nervous chuckle, his eyes was focused on the hollowness inside Celty's open helmet. His lips were in the shape of a crooked smile. "You," he pointed shakily at her, "You've got to be kidding me." He paused for a while, trying to find his words.

"This must be CG* or something, right?" He questioned, this time in a louder volume. Celty closed the front of the helmet and began to type her reply, but something stopped her.

They were standing in a hallway towards a room—it was an apartment in Sunshine Building. Kida hear footsteps approaching them and turned around to see who it was. There, in the end of the hallway, stood a young man with brown hair. One of his hands was inside the pocket of a lab coat he was wearing. The blonde, still clad in Raira's uniform, assumed that he was a doctor. His other hand was holding a mug of coffee. It was custom made, anyone could tell, since there was a _chibi_ picture of the doctor and a name written under it: Shinra.

He smiled at the oblivious and confused blonde. "I assure you, since I wasted twenty years living with her, she isn't CG." Kida blinked at his words.

_"Would it convince you if I take off this helmet?"_

The blonde stopped her with a hand gesture before she could do so. Kida took in a shaky inhale, and let it out. "Okay..." he began unsurely, eyes glaring at the floor. _Calm yourself down, Kida Masaomi. Calm down, _his mind instructed.

"I," he continued, "_really _should be going home now."

With that, he walked quickly out the door.

Shinra chuckled.

**. . . . .**

_"As soon as you're here, bring the clothes to room number 308. I'll explain soon," the brunette sent the text to Kadota. Her ever-serious way of talking made the whole thing sound like an official operation of some sort, even though it was only to evade people from knowing._

Ran entered the ladies' room, with Kadota waiting outside. He was checking his cell phone constantly for some unknown reason.

Well—he was ordered to, by Ran. Kadota sighed—_she's still as paranoid as ever, _thought the man. He was wondering of what made her this cautious. Something must be up, he assumed.

"_Set your phone on silent. When I call you from mine, go inside the men's room—it's just beside the ladies'." She elaborated. They were all sitting inside room 308, Togusa being an exception. She turned to look at the two otakus. "Erika-san and Walker-san should stay here and wait until I'm back." For a while, Kadota swore she glanced away. "Sorry I'm making you do this." _

Not long later, a heavily dressed figure exited the ladies' room. The hallways were empty; only some of the nurses were seen, and they were busy tending patients. It was Ran, judging from the features of her face that were hidden by a large beanie cap and a long thick winter coat. She made her way back to her room, number 308. Erika and Walker should be waiting inside.

_The girl otaku asked a question, oblivious of the situation. "We're happy to help, but why are you trying to escape a hospital when you think that you will be released tomorrow?" She queried. Yumasaki nodded in accord. "Yeah, and what's with this entire disguise thing?" Ran sighed; she was feeling bad for them. Yet again, the unawareness of the people that wasn't involved was stained by her. She pulled them into _her_ trouble. _Idiot, _her mind cursed herself. "Sorry. I promise I'll tell you, but later."_

She opened the door, spotting the otaku pair still sitting in their previous seats; probably they were absorbed by their own thoughts of what was happening. Ran looked at the wall clock—it was nine past twenty. The three waited for five minutes in silence before Ran gave the signal to get out of the room. The reason for the waiting part was to avoid unnecessary curiosity—they were supposed to act like they were _visiting _her, not _picking her up. _

When they arrived at the ground floor, Togusa started the van before they hopped in. "Kadota should be here soon." Ran announced. She took off the oversized beanie that was obviously borrowed from Kadota. "Erika-san, could you open the Dollars' website meanwhile?" The female nodded and searched for her cell phone.

"Where are we heading to?" Togusa said.

"Russian Sushi," she answered. "I need to talk with Simon."

**. . . . .**

The five were sitting around a table inside the Russian restaurant, while the four listened quietly to Ran's story which began when she was shot. She skipped the details of her deal with Izaya. She also told them about the reason of her troublesome disguise.

Even after her story was finished, nobody spoke. They were far too immersed by what they had heard.

"But still," the brunette began, "I'm surprised Shizuo didn't tell you."

Kadota shrugged. "He looks busy lately." At the sentence Erika snickered. "Yeah, busy throwing things."

Ran rested her chin on her palm. _He's been violent lately, huh? Wonder why..._

Simon's voice was heard. "Oh, Shizuo—are you here to have some sushi? Sushi is cheap!" Ran caught Kadota mumbling. "Speak of the devil."

The 'devil' they were talking about stopped when he walked past their table. His eyes widened behind those blue-tinted glasses. "Ran—what are you doing here?" He asked, taken aback. "You should be in the hospital, right?" The brunette still dressed heavily, and the beanie that was normally seen on Kadota's head was rested on hers instead. She let out a weak smile and patted the empty seat beside her, all the while shaking her head. "Not yet. I'm almost fully recovered, though, so I might as well go out."

"Why are you dressed like that?"

"They might spot me." Shizuo understood fully who 'they' were.

Shizuo joined their seat, and their meal was finished in silence. Before Kadota and co. brought her home, Ran had a word with Simon.

"Yo," she called. "How long were these black-wearing people around?" While saying this she glanced around, making sure that nobody heard their conversation. The black Russian put on his thinking pose. "I don't know how long exactly, but I think it was since a week ago."

_Right after I was shot, _she thought. "Thanks," the girl replied. "Anyway, if you see these two, please tell me." Ran took out two photographs and handed them for Simon to see. It was the same image of Juan and her father, Juumon.

Simon's answer was shocking. "Izaya told me to do the same thing, you know."

Not knowing how to react, Ran stood there wide-eyed. Her disjointed thoughts were stopped when Erika pulled her arm. "Let's go, Ran-chan! I need to tell you something important," she said and proceeded to drag the brunette towards their van. Apparently Erika's words weren't heard by the others.

**. . . . .**

The next early morning, the inquisitive nurse was talking to Izaya. "It's still six in the morning, uh..."

"Izaya Orihara."

She blinked. "Okay, Orihara-san. If you want to see Ran-san, you'll have to wait until," she hesitantly continued, "Four hours later."

The person standing in front of her in the hallway fake-pouted—it was Izaya Orihara alright. "Four hours later?" He repeated. The nurse that usually tended the brunette nodded. "Yes, visiting hours starts at ten in the morning." Izaya put his hands into his fur-trimmed coat's pocket and sighed. "Can't I see her now?"

It seemed that the nurse was a stubborn one, Izaya noted the fact. She still denied access to Ran's hospital room. "But she's still sleeping!" She whispered. Izaya's fake frown deepened. "I only want to see my significant other!" He remarked while acting upset. The nurse sighed, but inwardly thought, _I knew they were together. _

They stood in silence. "Fine," at last the nurse said. "But only for a while. She's almost fully recovered." She paused. "Director will kill me," muttered the nurse under her breath. "Don't tell anyone about this—I could be fired." She stabbed a long index finger on his chest and walked away, seeming grumpy. Izaya scoffed, but his face later turned into a smirk. _I don't really care about your job, honestly, _he thought to himself. Then he opened her door.

Izaya sat beside her bed as usual, examining her sleeping form. _No wonder that some people think of sleep as a weakness—her guard is really down_, he reflected with a smirk. He brushed her hair with his fingers, causing the girl to groan slightly. His actions were not enough to wake her up.

"You know," he said, despite the fact that Ran was still in deep slumber, "It wouldn't be safe for you if you hang about like last night." Again, he ran his hands through her dark honey-brown locks, tucking some behind her ear to keep them away from her face. "The Black Hole might just capture you again and hand you to your dad, right?" He continued talking, more to himself.

He paused, but his hand didn't. Then he grinned mischievously.

"Maybe we should disguise you... permanently?"

**. . . . .**

**Flashback**

Ran looked at the female otaku seriously. They were back in room 308, only the two girls alone. "What is it? You said you wanted to talk about something..." Ran inquired confusedly, one of her eyebrows raised. Erika tucked her hand in her pocket and took something out—it was her cell phone.

"You asked me to open the Dollars' web right? But no matter how many times I try," she pressed a few buttons to open the browser.

Then she showed the screen to Ran.

"...It redirects automatically to this."

When she saw the screen, Ran's green eyes widened. "No way," she softly whispered. Her eyes narrowed into slits and her hand took Erika's phone. The raven haired girl's eyes looked concerned. "I don't know how it could happen." She paused. "Each time I tried to refresh or type the Dollars' address, it always redirects to this website."

**WELCOME TO THE BLACK HOLE**

Ran examined the whole screen and read its contents. "This is its homepage. It seems like they don't require a password, unlike Dollars." She said. Erika nodded, but later she spoke. "Don't you think it's reckless? Someone might hack into it."

Green eyes widened again. This time her lips curled up.

Erika looked at Ran—it was _her_ turn to be puzzled. "What are you smiling at...?"

"I've got a way."

*Computer Graphics

A/N: Done! I'm so tired... and I've done my best too, so please review? I need to know what you think.


	24. Normally Abnormal

**Disclaimer** : I do not own the series Durarara! However, I own the OCs.

**Author's Note **: Thank you **Lostsoul95, Risa-chan, UltraBeing, Neon-Orange-Ninja-Penguin, epbphoenix, **and **kblvs2read**!

**So we'll be spending Valentine's Day with textbooks and teachers since the tryouts are on 13-15th February, and I'm assuming that this chapter will be the last update. I'm also not sure whether this story will be on hiatus or not, because nothing could stop me from forming ideas and plots in my mind. I update slow anyways, so it doesn't really makes any difference.**

**So this story will just have slower updates instead of in hiatus… or not. I'm indecisive. Punch me now.**

**If I don't update for a long time, then picture me sitting on a table, throwing curses at Math and Physics.**

**Just wait for the next chapter to come out, okay? I'm sorry.**

Chapter 24 – Normally Abnormal

Erika wasn't sure how to react; the smile on Ran's face seemed peculiar in Erika's point of view. The brunette sat on her bed and flipped her cell phone open, typing something on it. She stood up and borrowed Erika's phone. "Ran-chan... Why are you smiling?" Said girl blinked. "Was I?"

It was the black-haired girl's turn to blink. "Yeah... It's kinda creepy..." She hesitantly added. The brunette let out a light chuckle. _I guess I was too excited_, she thought to herself. "I need the Black Hole's URL," she started. "Could you send it to me, Erika-san?"

The raven nodded simply, but her mind was wondering of what made Ran need the URL. She was guessing her purpose and what was she planning to do, but her efforts had no avail. After she copied the link, Erika sent it as a text message to Ran. "Thanks," she said without looking away from her phone. "Anyway," this time she looked at the female otaku in the eye, "Togusa's van is waiting for you down there, right?" Ran scooted over towards the window to look below.

"Tell them I really appreciate the help you guys gave me today." She paused and the next second she had a guilty look on her face. Her green eyes were on staring on the floor. "Sorry I dragged you in this mess."

Erika smiled. "I'm—no, _we're _happy we could be the main protagonist's fairy helper characters." Ran looked up to see the smiling Erika.

_Main protagonist… _

After saying that, Erika skipped her way towards the door and exited the room, leaving Ran alone. The brunette decided to call it a day.

**. . . . .**

The next morning was customary—Ran woke up early feeling rejuvenated. Apparently a certain sociopath flea visited her. Then again, it was part of his routine to take a look at her condition, and it was part of _her_ routine to resent his frequent visits. Routines such as those were usual, but there was something unusual that day.

She didn't show antipathy towards his stopover. Instead, that day, she thought of his routine as a form of efficiency. Why is that so? One should pay attention to the scene inside her room.

With its small typical creak the door to her room opened, exposing the figure of a familiar informant wearing the recognizable fur trimmed coat. "Yo," he greeted simply with a smirk and closed the door, but what his eyes saw was far more than what he had expected. Izaya presumed that Ran would be sitting on her bed, pacing around her room, or standing beside the window to look below being the observer she was.

And yet, there she was, leaning against the wall with arms folded and eyes pinned on the door. She smirked when he entered.

"Ten minutes and thirty nine seconds," she straightened her posture and made her way towards her already neat hospital bed, "That's exactly how long I've been waiting for you."

Izaya let out a loud but short laugh, and approached her bed to sit beside the green eyed girl, copying her actions. "It seems that being kept in a hospital for a week made you more and more interesting." He chuckled a little, while Ran monitored him with a fleeting look. "So tell me," the male began, "Why were you waiting for me?" He asked curiously as he eyed her with a sneer.

Ran played with the cell phone in her hand. "Try to open Dollars' website in your phone, Izaya." She instructed him. Said raven-haired man gave her an amused look, but complied. He just simply wanted to know the reason of her sudden character change. _Oh, that actually has reference to another anime*!_ The informant unconsciously thought. Then he felt like an otaku—identical to Erika and Walker.

When he opened the browser, as usual he fluently typed the Dollars' website. He showed the screen to her.

It was the normal sight of the Dollars logo along with a blank column below it used to fill their password.

She blinked silently. Izaya looked at her, "What?" he questioned. After a few more blinks—just to make sure she didn't see it wrong—she uttered her reply. "That's just weird," she said. The raven didn't push her more, knowing that she would tell the whole thing. "Yesterday Erika told me that when she tried to access Dollars, the page redirected on its own." The brunette explained. "So they _didn't _take over the whole website?"

"If that's what you mean," he started with eyes still glued on his phone's screen, "Maybe they only took over the client."

Green eyes met red-hued ones. "Client?"

Izaya nodded. "Yep. It's the thing that appears on your phone and is only one of a kind. Kinda like a fingerprint for cell phones," he elaborated. Ran nodded, but asked a question one second later. "Does it have a connection to the browser?"

Again, the informant nodded. By the time he provided her answer, they maintained eye contact. "When you search for something in a search engine, the client number will appear in the URL. I guess that's how Black Hole takes over the website. Or, to be precise, Juan."

It was Ran's turn to nod, her being drowned in seriousness. Meanwhile Izaya was merely guessing her thoughts—psychoanalyzing her, to say the least. He loved to scrutinized people's mind, especially his favorite human. Ran blinked a few times; the girl must've noticed that she was being watched through her peripheral vision. "What made you come here?" She finally asked, her eyes meeting with his again.

The information dealer let out a sigh that sounded like a relieved one. "At last," he moaned out. His lips twisted into the trademark smirk of his. "I thought you'd never ask that question!" exclaimed the sociopath male in exhilaration. "Still unpredictable as always," added he. Ran let out an exasperated puff of breath through her mouth. "Just answer my question normally, freak." The insult came in a tone of antipathy.

Izaya tsk-ed exactly three times before throwing himself backwards, making him lay down on bed with a 'thump'. "You really want to know?" He looked up at her with a smirk.

"That's why I asked."

He shrugged, "Well, I would've answered if you hadn't call me a 'freak'…" He teased.

"Just get on with it!" Ran grabbed the pillow and prepared to throw it _hard_ on him. The informant immediately sat up and raised his two hands in admittance of defeat. He chuckled.

"Okay, okay~"

**. . . . .**

Juumon stood beside his student, who was sitting down in front of a laptop. "I thought you said that the members weren't needed… why should we gather them up again?" Juan questioned, his eyes still focused on the screen. The senior surgeon stayed silent until he scoffed. "I think we should face them with numbers," he answered. "But it seems that Ran is not alone."

At this Juan nodded in agreement. If she was really alone, no one would save her from possible death like last time. The bespectacled man's mind was reeling—why did his teacher want his daughter to be unharmed? There was a chance that Juumon Sumimura still loved his daughter, but if he really did then he wouldn't want to do such a thing to her. _Especially the one that hit me_, he thought.

He was searching for a random client number and worked on jumbling the incomprehensible perplexing codes on their browser while his teacher watched from beside him, standing up tall. Juan could tell that he was currently not paying concentration towards what was his apprentice doing. _Drowned in thought? _He assumed. Almost certainly, he was thinking about his daughter again. Juan sighed inaudibly; the action didn't faze Juumon from whatever he was thinking of.

Sometimes he was led into a conclusion that Juumon, his teacher, has a multi-personality syndrome, but he had always shook the though off. Juumon had never been indecisive about anything except the matter of his daughter. Unbeknownst to the older man, Juan could easily see him through—years of training under him enabled him to do so. Juan could sense the hesitation of his teacher, but he was glad that in the end Juumon would always settle on taking the girl back.

If the senior practitioner wasn't willing to dissect his own daughter, then _he _will.

**. . . . .**

Ran's eyes widened.

"Disguise me _permanently_?" she rasped, echoing his last words. The word 'permanent' was accentuated. Izaya smirked and answered like the matter was nothing but a _half _piece of cake. "Why not?" he shrugged with a grin. "Besides, you wouldn't last long without a cover-up with that much of Black Hole members." The raven haired informant thought of another tormenting comment. "Even the cops couldn't stand a chance, right?"

Crimson tinged eyes moved over towards the girl that was standing beside the window by the time, only to monitor her reaction. She had her narrowed eyes glowering into his pair before looking at the outlook through the glass. The view was shocking. Ran expected it to be a normal view of the morning with people hustling about—mostly black-wearing ones, she might add, but it _entirely _was not.

An unknown man looked up straight in her room window on the third floor.

There are several important parts here: First, he was wearing black from head to toe. The expression on his face clearly wasn't one of grief or sorrow, since black-clad people aren't addressed as 'just-got-back-from-the-funeral' thing. Second, he spotted her obviously. Their eyes met for a very long two seconds. Lastly, he walked away with his cell phone attached to his ear—he was calling someone.

Ran's grip on the windowpane tightened.

Normally Izaya _would_ scheme this whole overwhelming, nerve-racking scene, but apparently he appeared curious as of what had caused his favorite human to react that way. He approached her towards the window and looked down. Nothing was what he saw.

Izaya turned to face Ran, "Who was that?"

Her gaze didn't meet his, no matter how long he stared. Her green eyes looked down the floor, but in reality it was focused on nothing. _Heavy shock_, the informant diagnosed psychologically and logically at the same time. Ran was at loss of words—something that never happened during the years of knowing her.

Ran Ryogo _never_ gets tongue-tied.

The experienced broker sighed. He had witnessed many expression and responses of humans before, including Ran's towards certain things, but it was the first time he became the onlooker of her stunned self. Well, not to _this _extreme.

Normally Izaya would smirk and enjoy the atypically rare sight of a shocked Ran, wishing that she could remain in that face for hours so he could satisfy himself. A lot of things happened on average that day, but it seemed that a lot of unusual things also happened at the same day.

Now, for example.

Instead of taking pleasure in the view, Izaya pulled his hand out of the pockets of his jacket and grabbed her head, causing her to almost fall forward towards him and emitting a loud, surprise-induced groan of some sort. Realizing the situation, Ran grabbed his wrists back and tried to tear them off her face, but failed. She didn't let go of his hands.

"Just what are you trying to do?" She bellowed loudly at him.

"Snap out of it," he replied coolly, looking down at her. "What did you see?"

Ran blinked, her eyebrows raised in worry a second after the action. "A Black Hole guy saw me. Seems like he called someone to tell them about my whereabouts…" her grip on his wrists loosened, while his didn't falter.

The door opened in a sudden without any warning whatsoever. "What's all the noise!" A panicked young nurse, the usual mischievous one that was assigned to tend Ran entered with full force, causing the door to bang against the white wall of the room.

Out of reflex, Izaya pulled her head closer to his.

They kissed—_unwillingly_, in Ran's point.

The brunette's eyes immediately closed out of shock—God, she swore she could die out of heart attack! His lips felt cold on her cold ones, but that just added the spark. Shit—was that a chill running down her spine? She prayed that it wasn't. Ran didn't know how to react, which was why she didn't kiss back. Izaya didn't seem to like this, as he bit on her lip before nipping at it.

The nurse blushed hard at the intimate sight and apologized at once. "S-S-Sorry!" She stuttered out before dashing out of the room, banging the door close. They could hear her ultimately earsplitting squeal.

A flustered Ran was out of breath when they pulled away, despite Izaya's normal state of inhalation. He smirked.

"What the fuck—"

As mentioned in chapters before, Izaya wasn't one to waste his chances. And so he didn't.

Once again he pulled her in, taking advantage of her open mouth when mentioning the heavy curse. The second kiss he gave her was short but much deeper than the one before. She tried to make a sound, but it was successfully muffled by Izaya's mouth.

When they pulled away this time, Ran yelled again. "What was that for!" Her eyes were narrowed. The sight was pretty entertaining to Izaya—her facial appearance looked exceedingly angry, but the intense pink flush on her face made it cute. He smirked. "What for do you think it was?" He replied, chuckling more when he heard her snarl.

The door opened again, revealing the same nurse. Her pale cheeks were now tinged in cherry from the previous view she witnessed.

"U-U-Um," she stuttered, "You are d-d-done, r-r-right?"  
>Izaya nodded in Ran's place since the brunette was still trying to comprehend everything. "Yes," he answered. "Why are you here?"<p>

"A-A-Actually, Ran-san's already allowed out of the hospital."

With a bang, the door closed. Once again Ran and Izaya listened to a very loud fan-girl screech even beyond those concrete walls. Their expression was blank however—well, Ran's wasn't completely blank. The blush was still there. "You," she started to growl at him after the nurse was far away. Izaya chuckled at the almost undomesticated sound emanated by the brunette.

"What the hell was that for!"

She tried to silence him before with a very peculiar and unusual quote before, and Izaya wasn't a person that would accept a defeat just like that. He decided that it was the perfect time for vengeance.

"Problem?"

He didn't give her a chance to reply as he walked—no, skipped—his way out the door.

**. . . . . **

They were all sitting in Shinra's place to discuss about their next move, save for Shizuo. He was out collecting debts (and throwing things wildly) again. Shinra was sipping his unhealthy cup of coffee, while Celty sat as usual—not that she ever looked different in a way. Izaya looked at Ran who was sitting on his left.

"So, with that guy looking at you," he began, "I suppose you'll be willing to disguise yourself?"

*Reference to the anime/manga _"Shugo Chara!"_

A/N:

Again, a meme as a prompt. Don't kill me and don't ask why I'm so addicted to it.

I had a hard time writing the kissing scene—it's my second time, and I still suck. I really have to go now.

*hides in embarrassment*


	25. Pensiveness

**Disclaimer **: It would be cool if I owned Durarara!

**Author's Note **: Thanks to **Bree Renee **(did I spell it right?)**, BlackDarkRose10, **and** Princess-of-thieves6**! This story needs more love, really.

**Guess what? After the first three-day tryout, there will be another—a four-day tryout. Talk about pain in the neck. The fund-raising concert is coming up, there will be more practical exams at school, and on the beginning of March I'm going to have an examination of the theory of music. Sorry for the random rambling.**

Chapter 25 – Pensiveness

"Look, it the Black Biker!" A schoolgirl squealed when the black motorcycle was in sight.

"Where is he?"

Her friends that were hanging out with her hysterically tried to spot the motorcyclist. The rumored metropolitan legend really was there, with _her _usual yellow pointed helmet and black attire. It was early October and the weather was starting to get chillier each day, even if it was already afternoon. Despite the cold state occurring in the municipal Ikebukuro, the Headless Rider still would appear, although not very habitually. And as usual, the youths will either squeal or freak out upon the biker's emergence.

The high school students began to stand beside the road, eager to witness the legend with their bare eyes.

It transpired as usual—the black engineless bike passed them in a mere second, cacophonously emitting a neigh-like sound, but to the adolescences the whole scene seemed to be slow-motioned by who knows what; admiration, wonder?

And after only a few microseconds the black bike passed the simply disregarded spectators.

They never knew who was behind the helmet though, even though a lot of people were there during the exposure of her headless self.

But the one that just had passed the street wasn't the usual self. How come?

You'll know later.

Even in the distance of the asphalt road people could still hear the ostensibly lonely neigh of a horse.

**. . . . .**

Sunshine Building—the name was renowned in town, but who would guess that a simple young male doctor, illegal as known to some, could conceal such a great secret? The secret itself could not be estranged from the district Ikebukuro. Shinra could hear the door open from his seat in the living room, the usual cute personal mug of coffee in one hand. The other was rested upon Celty's shoulder. The Irish woman sat beside him, still clad in pajamas, watching TV despite the fact that she was headless. The brunette medic glanced at the apartment door, revealing the figure of a woman…

It was Celty.

He smiled, not moving from his settlement. "Welcome home, Celty!" he greeted warmly before sipping the bitter espresso—the coffee for that day of his. The Celty that sat on the couch showed the screen of her PDA. _"Hey, you're back," _the text read. The Celty that just arrived in the flat—confusing, I know—walked towards them with hands on the yellow helmet.

She took it off and shook her brown hair that was tied into a bun.

"I told you to_ still _call me Ran, Shinra," she cynically said to Shinra after the sigh of relief came from her lips. "Damn," Ran whispered after she seated herself on the couch beside Celty. The brunette took off the bun that held back her hair and redid it into her usual ponytail. "That helmet was very heavy, Celty. I can't believe you wore it for the past twenty years in Japan," she complained to the original Dullahan.

The coat-wearing Shinra looked at Ran, ignoring the random TV show for a while. "So how did your first day of disguise go?" he questioned in his inquisitive merriment, grinning the whole time. Ran let out another sigh—she considered that habit of hers as a bad one, really.

Ran focused her gaze on the beaming television. "At least I get to know how Celty feels," she responded. "And it's all because of that silly, smelly, gross, psycho of an informant." She grumbled, trying not to rave about how much she detested him. Shinra chuckled lightly before continuing to observe the TV.

**Flashback**

_ "So, with that guy looking at you," he began, "I suppose you'll be willing to disguise yourself?" While saying this, he glanced at a grimacing Ran that sat beside him on Shinra's couch. The other two—Shinra and Celty—quietly studied the brunette and the ravenette, the former still shocked due to the past two, no, three events:_

_A god-damned Black Hole member knew her face, location, and room number. And he called someone._

_Izaya kissed her. _

_He did it twice._

_Ran was absolutely pissed, but that was only ten percent of her whole emotion. The rest ninety was of shock and disbelief. She was clueless of what she should do—something that rarely happened to her. Well, everything has its first time. And maybe Izaya was going to push into a first facial disguise. At the thought of him controlling—more like manipulating—her and her decisions, she gripped her knuckles tight until it became pale, and her nails were digging through her palms' skin. That definitely would leave crescent marks on it._

_ Izaya was a sociopath, meaning that he enjoyed rampaging on someone's emotions. And he did that often alright. Studying, monitoring, observing, even stalking a poor prey's feelings were the things he did to kill time, his hobbies, _and _his specialties. But although he was experienced at noticing inner thoughts and such, he, in fact, hadn't really experienced emotion other than glee—that came from the joy of pseudo-torturing people._

_He smirked when he saw the look on Ran's face. Izaya rarely saw that expression on the face of a person such as Ran. But later the excitement he felt was added with another tinge of emotion—he wasn't familiar with it, but judging according to the symptoms…_

_He felt guilty._

_The informant had the urge to laugh at himself that moment. He was fully aware that he said the 'willing to disguise yourself' sentence only to create a stronger sensation of worry inside her. _

_Don't ask him why he felt that way. He didn't recognize it as well. But after a few ponderings, he thought he was guilty._

_Izaya wrapped his arm over her shoulder. He swore something _possessed _him back then—it was atypical of him. _

"_On the other hand…" he began near her ear, causing Shinra to gape at the sight—if Celty could, she would've done so—of their intimacy and the sight of Ran _not _grabbing his prying arm away, "I have a better idea."_

_Maybe it was his way to stop feeling guilty?_

**End of Flashback**

And that better idea of his turned out to be disguising in Celty's black clothes. Ran was lucky it was winter. She'd be damned if it wasn't.

Either way, she knew she was in great jeopardy and threat since one of those black scumbags spotted her. He even _called _somebody; she remembered lucidly—one of the higher-ups, maybe? The brunette was already gazing away from the TV towards the outside that was shown through the spotless window of the apartment.

She didn't have any clue as to what she was going to do for the days to come. Surely she couldn't pretend to be Celty until forever, right? Her cover would be blown anyway. She didn't know what to do, although in the meantime she got to play as the legendary Headless Rider. She couldn't help but feel useless—the Black Hole must've had a plot up their sleeve.

**. . . . .**

Mikado stood in front of his computer, observing the member counter as if it was a come-home-from-school tradition. The sky was tinted in the color of heavy tangerine, as usual, and even without a clock one would unmistakably predict that it was late in the afternoon. The high school boy, now already dressed in his casual clothes, glared intently on the screen that showed the Dollars homepage.

He got the news from Izaya and Celty that Ran had been released from Raira General Hospital two days ago, and that she continued to stay in Shinra's place. But exactly on that day of her 'liberation' from Ran's isolation inside the hospital, she texted him, telling the boy about the Black Hole member that knew about her whereabouts and that she was in a rather critical situation, about Erika's Dollars website being redirected, and about Izaya's new plan on disguising her as the Headless Rider.

**Flashback**

_Her heart began to pulsate when she heard about Izaya's new arrangement, and that's where she lost it. "Are you serious? I swear, Izaya, what _is _inside that little head of yours?" She groaned at him, causing the raven haired man to retreat his arm from her well-built shoulders. Izaya chuckled at her sudden outburst. "Well, for your information, my head is not that little," he said with a smirk. "And of course I'm serious! You and Celty stand in almost the same height, and I might say both of you have a similar figure."_

_ Ran's green eyes narrowed._

_ Izaya didn't stop. "And anyways, all you have to do is ride on a bike!"_

_ "An _engineless _bike, Izaya." Her tone was meant to insult him. _

_ "It's a horse, Ran." The information broker retorted, remembering the conversation between him and Celty in front of Mikado's house. _

_ She shrugged and changed her sitting position so that she was fully facing him. "Okay, a horse," she exactly knew about the fact, but didn't expect Izaya to mention about it. "And how am I supposed to ride a horse that has a shape of a motorcycle?"_

_He shrugged and changed his sitting position so that he was fully facing her. With his typical mischievous smirk—anyone might add. "How am I supposed to know? Ask the boss," with his thumb he addressed Celty. Then he turned to face the female that was still in her riding attire. _

"_You would let her, right?" he asked, the smirk turning dangerous._

**End of Flashback**

With that story being told, Mikado would never look at the black bike the same way, for it wasn't the real Headless Rider that was riding it. It was Ran, trying to escape her identity. More like, forced by the situation to do so.

So what was he doing? His probable answer would be: "I'm keeping an eye on the Dollars' website, or to be specific, the member counter." If anyone asked why, he would tell them: "Ran-san asked me to."

Mikado didn't like the sound of it—keeping an eye on the member counter because Ran-san asked him to? No, that didn't sound good in his brain. He knew he wanted to help her, but he wanted more, being the experience-greedy high school boy he was. He wasn't one to love the normal daily occurrence—waking up, bathe, breakfast, school, go back home, online or maybe do some homework, sleep, waking up again—he wanted his life to be filled with amazing things. He wanted to know more. Experience more.

So he called the van gang.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Kadota-san."

"You're Mikado." That wasn't a question.

"Yes."

"Anything wrong?"

"I just wanted to discuss something with you guys," he replied.

"About what?"

"Distinctively with Erika Karisawa-san," Mikado answered.

The rest of the group, that were sticking their ears near the phone so they could hear the conversation, blinked. What would Mikado Ryuugamine, a boy that owned a name similar to a manga character, want from Erika Karisawa? Judging from the tone of his voice, it wasn't to discuss anime or manga or anything alike. Kadota realized this.

"Okay," the man answered. "We should meet up."

"That's fine with me."

"Is Russian Sushi okay with you?"

"Sure. Is seven p.m. okay?"

Kadota sounded his approval and closed the phone.

**. . . . .**

Juan closes the lid of the laptop, letting the device enter its sleep mode. He'll resume hacking later—his eyes were getting tired of the bright light of the screen. The surgeon turned to look at his teacher, sitting on a couch and sipping his black coffee from a mug. The two returned to Juan's apartment earlier that day after the apprentice convinced the elder man that he was fine.

Besides, there's a big probability that Ran had recovered already.

His eyes narrowed at the thought of the possibility. She should've been an easy target, but it turned out that she wasn't that simple. There would always be an opening for her to escape. But he wouldn't just let her go like that. In order to prove himself to Juumon, in order to pay for his previous disappointment, he must succeed this time, and his tutor was willing to give him a chance.

"Sensei, what are we going to do next?"

Juumon was silent for a while.

"I already have a plan."

"That is?"

"Ran doesn't have too many allies. We, on the other hand, have almost the whole town."

"So we'll use numbers?"

"Exactly."

Juumon sipped his coffee, while Juan let out a sigh. They have a plan. And that is to capture her in numbers. Little did they know, Ran also has almost the whole town as her allies.

Dollars.

A/N:

I don't live in a subtropical country that has four seasons. Could you tell me about the seasons, I mean, in what month does a season start and when will it end? (-_-')

Still thinking the plot for the next chapter, sorry for the slow progression and update.

Need more reviews….


	26. Birthday Girl

**Disclaimer **: It would be cool if I owned Durarara!

**Author's Note **: Thanks to **LostSoul95, DarkWriter00 (**formerly** UltraBeing), Dorchica, frozen yoyo, Amara-niichan, xMeganexGirlxPublication,** and** Z**! Thank you everybody!

Thanks for the explanation on the weather guys. I really appreciate it.

Chapter 26 – Birthday Girl

Weeks passed since Ran, for her first time, posed as Celty, and it was already mid-October. During daytime the brunette would do her new routine, which was to cover up as the metropolitan myth, riding on Shooter, the bike—no, horse's—name, and at night the real Celty would take Ran's place to do her usual conveying job. Ran was getting sick of it—she was bored having to ride on Shooter all day around town with nowhere to go, every day, while Celty didn't really mind staying at home during the day. Well, she was with Shinra, of course, but at times the doctor would go out to do his work. His illegitimate work, anyone might note.

Ran sipped her coffee and put the mug back on the table. Since it was already eight in the evening, it was Celty's turn to go out. Shinra, apparently, had a job to do, so he went out. The young girl sigh as she ruffled her hair that was let down. She glanced at the desk calendar that showed the month October. It was the 18th.

"Two days until my birthday," the girl unintentionally mumbled to no one in particular.

Shinra's apartment was dark, and she was the only one there. That kind of situation could seriously cause a threat to her, as she was still being hunted by—according to Ran, the damned dogs of Black Hole. She couldn't afford to let her guard down. She slumped back into the fluffy couch, slightly groaning while she hugged one of the pillows. "What am I gonna do after this…?" the girl wondered out loud in a rather desperate tone.

She hated the uncertainty of the situation, and not to mention she would be 22 in two days.

**. . . . .**

The van-gang had just finished their thirty-minute meeting with Mikado, and so they were hanging out jadedly in front of Russian Sushi. Kadota played with his cell phone. "She's home alone again," he announced suddenly, halting Erika and Walker's typical anime conversation. Surely, the 'leader' was regarding Ran. He was texting with her, as usual. The otaku duo frowned deeply. "Poor girl," Erika wailed. "It's boring not to have her around," she continued. Walker tsk-ed, agreeing. "Surely, _that _isn't easy to do," he added, emphasizing the 'that'. Togusa kept silent, but anyone could guess that he was upset as well.

"Too bad her birthday's in two days~!"

At the ever-so-familiar voice, Kadota and the others turned around, only to find a very well-known male. "Izaya," Kadota acknowledged the person. "Yo," said raven-haired man replied, grinning in his classic gleeful attitude. Erika didn't waste her time to obstruct. "Her birthday is on the," she counted with her fingers in less than a second, "twentieth?" she ended her sentence with a yell. Eagerly, the information broker nodded.

In confusion, the four looked at each other.

"What should we do…?"

As if he were the wind, Izaya walked away, chuckling to himself. They didn't even know he left.

**. . . . . **

_"Hey, Shinra," _Celty, with her hand, motioned said man to come closer so he could see the text typed on her phone. Shinra did so, his trademark coffee mug in one hand. "What?" the brunette replied. With another hand, Celty raised her index finger before typing again. _"Hey, don't be so loud, idiot. She's sleeping," _The Dullahan showed him her PDA again. A goofy smile crept into the male's face. "Sorry," he said, this time in a lower volume.

Putting down the mug on the table, careful not to make a sound, Shinra asked again. "So what's the matter?" Celty typed quickly in reply. _"Well, Izaya told me," _she began, _"that Ran's birthday is the twentieth this month."_

Wide-eyed Shinra whistled softly. "Whoa, two more days, huh?" he replied. Celty nodded; the gesture somehow apparent despite the absence of her head. "Should we throw her a birthday party?" he suggested. Celty put a hand under her chin, thinking. _"I'm not so sure. That seemed very typical. Besides, both Izaya and Shizuo are her friends…" _The female added hesitantly. Was Izaya her friend? From the conversation between Celty and Ran, she could conclude that actually Ran wasn't too fond of the informant. But judging by the way the two of them talked yesterday, Izaya's arm around her shoulder and her not fussing about it, the two weren't friends.

They could be more than that.  
>Shinra snapped Celty's train of thoughts with one word."What?"<p>

"_Nothing," _She replied, too quickly, maybe.

"Are you thinking about giving her something?"

"_You could say so," _she lied. Celty wanted to know about the truth behind the two. What was going on with them? Besides, Ran hadn't talked that much to Shizuo these days… There must be something between Izaya and Ran.

Celty was determined to find out.

**19****th**** October**

"I'm back," Ran—that was dressed very well like Celty—announced after she closed the door behind her. She walked towards the living room. "Oh, hi," Shinra said. Surely the illegitimate medic didn't have any job to do that day, so once again he stayed at home with Celty, and God knows doing what. And very similar like the days before, the couple was sitting in front of the television—Ran didn't care of what were they watching the whole time.

_"Ran," _Celty typed.

The brunette, hair already let down from the bun, was drinking some water from a cup on the dining table behind the couch. "Hm?" was her simple response.

_"We need to talk about something."_

In the middle of devouring the mineral water due to the heavy thirst she often experienced, she blinked.

Don't ask how, but somehow she felt that something bad was happening.

**. . . . .**

Mikado booted his computer on. The meet-up with Kadota and his friends, although only for thirty minutes, was helpful enough to give the high school student a clue. Erika told him that she got a text from Ran, saying that the problem in accessing the Dollars' page was because of the client number. At first, the black haired boy wasn't familiar with whatever a client number is, but after some research on the net through his phone's web browser, he found out which one was.

He opened the memo application on the simple phone and began to type the link that he typed down earlier. Erika gave it to him—it was Black Hole's address. Finished, he hit the 'enter' button.

Lucky the internet connection was pretty fast that afternoon. Within a few seconds, the once white blank page of the computer then turned into black, their trademark color, and white letters began to appear on the screen. Mikado once wondered why it wasn't protected with a password—and so did Erika and Ran—but he soon found out why.

The address wasn't anything like Dollars'. It was . At first, Mikado sweat-dropped, but later he thought that it was actually a pretty good camouflage. People would laugh if anyone told them that _pop-quizgames_ was Black Hole's address. Well, really, Mikado tried to suppress a laugh, because the second biggest color gang in town actually used _pop-quizgames_ as their address!

Well, of course, the first biggest color gang being Dollars.

It merely took five to six seconds until the screen was filled with white letters. He browsed them one by one, carefully. There were no signs of orders to capture Ran Ryogo, or things similar to that. Judging by the number of posts, the users were either old or they were just busy. 100 posts so far. "No way," Mikado murmured to himself. "They've been around, and their members are a whole lot. Why are there so little posts?"

He came to a wrap-up—the members were busy people.

Unlike the Dollars' members that were students, or youths in their twenties or thirties, Mikado thought that the Black Hole members had a permanent routine—a job, most likely. If so, then they wouldn't have much time to access the internet. They could also be taking care of their family, which made them so busy they didn't have much spare time.

Why would a group of, most likely, adults join in a color gang? It made Mikado wonder.

Anyhow, it's time for the amateur to learn how to use Black Hole's weapon against them.

**. . . . .**

Ran acted like nothing was bothering her. "So, what did you want to talk about?" She asked as she closed the door of the spare room, now hers. Celty waved her hand across the door swiftly, and out of the blue there was the black shadows covering the door. Ran gave her the 'what did you do?' look.

"_Shinra would be eavesdropping," _Celty typed. _"It's impossible to do now." _The brunette nodded. If Celty didn't want Shinra to hear, than it must be serious—well, actually Ran could sense what Celty wanted from her… it was like written on the smoke that emits from the hollow of her neck. She was curious if Celty was really going to ask her about that.

The Dullahan sat on the comfortable bed, Ran beside her. _"I see that somehow you've gotten along with Izaya." _The decapitated female began.

_I knew it_, the brunette winced inwardly.

"What made you think so?" she asked, partly disgusted because a headless person just told her that it seemed like she got along with that freak—partly. The other part was praying that Celty would not realize that she was actually hiding all the shenanigans that happened during the time she was hospitalized… especially the shenanigans that _Izaya_ did. Ran mentally cursed the informant.

Celty began to type and nudged the screen near her face. _"You didn't mind him wrapping his arm around you yesterday? Wasn't that a sign of friendship?" _

Being decapitated wouldn't take away Celty's ability to be sarcastic.

Deciding that hiding anything would worsen things, Ran gave in. She usually wouldn't give up this easily; it's just that she was tired of hiding. Hiding herself, hiding secrets, and all that whatnot.

"Fine," she drawled out.

Celty 1 – Ran 0.

The smoke began to form like an atomic bomb smoke. It looked like a mushroom. Really, Celty's embarrassed. She shouldn't be, since Ran should be the one embarrassed by spitting out the stories about the hair-play Izaya thought as a routine, even the kiss. It was the most humiliating experience in Ran's life. Izaya, being the damned source of the humiliation, was again, cursed inwardly by Ran.

_You asshole._

Instead of asking more questions to have Ran repeat the whole explanation again, Celty didn't react. She sat there, on the bed, motionless. The grip on her PDA was so deadly that a bird would've died in her hand.

If she had a face, it would be deep red, like a boiled crab.

Because, seriously, what kind of kiss that could possibly make a nurse, that was innocently entering the room, scream _very _loudly like Ran had been raped? What kind of kiss could do _that_?

Logically, Izaya's kind of kiss could do that.

**. . . . .**

**20****th**** October**

"Wow, no shit," Ran muttered.

It was _six_ in the morning. The last time Ran woke up that early was the time when Shinra called her—that was maybe a month ago. Why did she say 'no shit'? Because said brunette was ruffling her bed-head hair and was heading towards the kitchen, ready to ask Shinra to make her some coffee, when…

There was no one in the house.

Ran would usually witness the normal scenery—the sound of Celty bathing in the shower, loud and clear, while Shinra was humming in the kitchen, making his daily cup of coffee. She would usually ask Shinra to make hers too, and he would always say yes.

But it was different. They weren't home. "Wonder where they are," she muttered again and nonchalantly made her way to make her own coffee before having her morning shower. And after that, she would do her usual routine—ride on Shooter around town with nowhere to go.

"Another boring day…"

**Six p.m.**

_Thank God it's over!_ She silently praised. The ride around Ikebukuro wasn't usually that tiring. Well, it was hot anyway, and she, playing as the _Headless _Rider, wasn't allowed to drink. She opened the door to Shinra's apartment.

**Meanwhile…**

"Hey, stop stepping on my foot!"

"Argh, that's because Togusa's holding my shoulder!"

"Shhh, be quiet, you idiots!"  
>"…She's coming."<p>

Footsteps were heard.

"Dotachin, the light switch." Erika whispered very softly.

"Dotachin?"

There was no reply. Erika gulped.

Click! The lights were on.

Ran, standing there in the hallway, had her hand on the switch, her other hand—no, arm—pinning Kadota to the wall. The man grunted, but soon he wasn't constricted. Ran released her arm.

"You…" he breathed, "ruined our surprise." Ran smiled amusingly; she had never seen _the _Kadota Kyohei like that before. "I had my suspicions," the girl simply answered, a smile still gracing her face.

They were quiet, their faces awkward, until…

"Um… surprise?" Togusa uncertainly murmured.

"Surprise!" Erika and Walker yelled as she jumped from their previous spot. Reflexively Shinra and Celty (literally) shot the balloon with no one knows what, followed by a 'bang', and colorful confetti fell slowly to the ground. Then there were cheers, loud 'woot's, and noises all around the places—wait, wasn't that Mikado? And his two other friends?

Celty seemed to be able to read Ran's mind, so she volunteered to explain. _"I was the one that asked them to come," _the Dullahan said.

Ran examined the room. There were lots of people—Kadota, Erika, Walker, Togusa, Mikado, Masaomi and Anri… She swore she saw Shizuo. Wait, it was him. When their eyes met, said bartender-clad man smirked. "Happy birthday," he mouthed silently.

The green eyed girl suddenly remembered something. "How did you guys know that it's my birthday today?"

Erika was already _programmed _by Celty to answer the question. "We asked you before. You don't remember? The day we dropped you off at your new apartment?"

Obviously, it was a lie. They didn't want Ran to know that Izaya was the one that told them.

Ran thought. "You did?"

"Yes! And you answered that the 20th October is your birthday!" She replied, partly afraid that ran would find out their little white lie.

"I did?"

"Yes!" All of them answered simultaneously.

Shinra suddenly returned from the kitchen—nobody knew when he left. "That doesn't matter. Now all you have to do is blow the candles," he said, carrying out a chocolate milk tart cake with twenty-two tiny candles on it.

"Blow the candles!" The crowd cheered.

"Don't forget to make a wish!" Walker added.

Ran closed her eyes, inhaled, and blew. She didn't believe in making wishes when blowing candles. It's just her opinion, but she thought of it as a foolish thing to do. It's not like your wish would come true, right? She never _did_ wish during blowing the candles. Think was all she ever did during those birthday routines This time she did the same.

_Why isn't Izaya here?_

**. . . . .**

Ran tiredly flopped down Shinra's couch. They—Shinra, said brown-haired girl, and Celty—had just finished cleaning up the entire apartment, not excluding the bathroom. And as usual, to get a balanced perspective, we must observe from the both sides of the coin.

The positive side: They made a lot of mess, but it was fun.

The negative side: It was fun, but they made a lot of mess.

So there they were, exhausted, the three of them sitting next to each other. Well, 'sprawled' would be a better word. Describing the amount of places and things they must clean would be useless. It was deadly arduous. The clock that hung on the wall showed that it was almost midnight—two hours since the party ended. They had been cleaning ever since. They cleaned for two long hours.

In between inhales and exhales, Ran murmured, "I've never felt like this before."

"Me too," Shinra replied quickly, catching his breath.

The tiredness didn't stop Celty to type. _"But it was worth it, right?"_

Smiling weakly, the other two nodded.

After a good ten minutes of recharging energy on the couch, Ran got up with much effort. "Well, I'm gonna shower and go to sleep then."

The response she got was a light snore from Shinra.

**. . . . .**

Three knocks on the door.

There was a strangled moan from the room.

Another seemingly impatient three knocks.

_And I was _just _getting to sleep! _

"Dammit, I'm coming!" an equally impatient, yet drowsy female voice and shuffling footsteps.

The door creaked open.

Green eyes widened at the figure that stood beyond the door. She managed to keep her jaw shut. "Izaya," she whispered. The raven haired man smirked proudly. "Yo," he replied casually, as if sneaking inside a house after midnight was a normal thing to do.

Then silence.

"H-How did you get in here!" She nearly yelled.

Quickly the male put his finger on her lips. He hushed her and said, "You don't want to wake them up, do you?" She grabbed the finger that silenced her and repeated in a much softer tone. "How did you get in here?"

Again, there was the smirk on his face. "Let's just say I haven't returned Harima Mika's stalking tools…" Slyly, the broker answered. She nearly growled at him, but she was too sleepy to do so.

"What do you want at one in the morning?"

"You didn't invite me to your birthday party. You mean little girl…"

Ran, obviously annoyed to be woken up from her precious sleep only to be asked with that kind of question, folded her hands in front of her chest. "It was a surprise party. How am I supposed to know?" She explained.

The man that still wore his custom jacket shrugged, hands in said jackets pocket. "And Shizuo's invited?"

She scoffed in reply. "Shinra's flat would be nothing but dust if they invited you _and _Shizuo."

"Whatever. I still owe you a happy birthday," he said.

Those hands that were once in his pockets, stretched out, one of it stationed at the back of her head. Izaya pulled her near him and kissed her.

She didn't respond, yet she didn't pull away.

She was too sleepy to do either. He was the first to, anyway. "It's my favorite's birthday," he said, keeping the distance between their faces close, "so I wanted to say happy birthday." Again, he kissed her, this time a bit softer than the previous. Mischievously he slipped a wandering hand into her shirt, cold fingers on her waist, and she gasped.

Should you really be told again, that he wasn't one to let the chances go?

**Extended ending**

He pulled away, enjoying the view of a breathless, flushed, confused, blinking Ran. She looked _adorable_.

"Well, think of it as a birthday present. Good night, baby~"

Izaya grabbed the doorknob and slowly closed it, allowing Ran to catch the view of him winking when he mentioned the word 'baby'. When the door was really closed, Ran made her way back to the bed and thought. Did he just kiss her again? It was the third time! Still blushing, the brown-haired girl sighed, a palm on her forehead.

She should've bit his tongue when they kissed.

A/N:

Another kissing scene! O/O

So I decided to rush the timeline a bit. This chapter is, to me, kind of filler-ish.

About Black Hole's web address thing, obviously it's fake so just ignore it, okay?

I know it's kinda lame... My ideas ran out, and, um...

I promise I'll make a better chapter next time, so please forgive me... (-_-)


	27. Table for Trio

**Disclaimer **: It would be cool if I owned Durarara!

**Author's Note **: Thanks to **Smile9316, Kodukuna Hana, Im-Ina-Tent, ****Stormbringer-Tsuki, Amara-nii chan, ****neko-cookie-yuki, **and **frozen yoyo**. I hope that's everybody. Anyone reading this story, silent readers or not, thanks. Still, it will really make me happy if you review.

**I know I've been gone for a long while… sorry about that, school's been hell (as always) and there were so many things to do… I hope you're not disappointed in this chapter. Enjoy as much as you can.**

Chapter 27 – Table for Trio

What the hell happened last night?

She repeated those words, mentally; of course, for God knows how many times since the moment she woke up that morning. Even after brushing her teeth, showering, and gulping down her coffee (which made Shinra and Celty wonder what happened to her), Ran could not straighten up her mind. She sat on the sofa, Celty nearby and Shinra sneaking up behind her, who was staring at her empty coffee mug.

Her mind was sorting the events. They had a surprise party (that's half right, since she spoiled the 'surprise' part), they cleaned up the whole apartment, and she went to bed. Then Izaya came—out of where? Hyperspace?—kissed her, and left. Then she woke up.

The last part didn't sound right enough to her…

Izaya did visit her last midnight, well, dawn would be more accurate, and he…

Ran winced at the thought.

"Hey, what's up with you today?" Shinra said as he stood behind the couch, eyeing at the brunette who was frowning. Celty typed, _"Is something the matter?" _and showed the screen to the girl. Ran sighed. "Nothing," she murmured.

Shinra folded his hands in front of his chest. "What _is _up with you? Sheesh," he ranted, before vanishing into the kitchen—to make another cup of coffee, Ran presumed. Said girl stared blankly at the floor near her feet. _"Well, what happened?" _Celty questioned, making Ran's eyes shift to look at the green tinted PDA screen.

With a shrug, she answered nonchalantly. "I'm fine." The reply wasn't satisfying enough to Celty, as the pajama-clad Dullahan started to type again.

"_You know that won't work on me."_

Ran sighed. "Really, nothing happened. I guess I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed," she finished softly, trying to convince Celty with her little lie, eyes staring blankly at the floor again. Then she looked at the headless woman. "I'm fine," she repeated, like she was reassuring herself.

Then they heard the bell from the front door.

"I'll get it!" Shinra yelled from the kitchen and rushed out, a hand carrying his trademark mug of coffee. Ran paced quickly into her room to hide inside, Celty also retreating into hers. The Dullahan got dressed properly and wore her usual yellow helmet. Who knew about this mysterious guest? It could be someone from Black Hole, they could've found out about Ran, or it could be just an innocent random person. Shinra and Celty never got visits like those, save for Shingen.

Cautiously, Shinra opened the door, trying to act as usual as possible.

The rather uninvited company smirked. "Yo, Shinra," he greeted.

Eyes wide, Shinra replied. "Orihara-san," he said, recognizing the man. A pause, in which said informant grinned boyishly. "She's still here, right?" The raven-haired man questioned. Shinra, who was still standing in the doorway, immediately knew that Izaya was addressing Ran. "Y-Yeah, she's here," he answered. Izaya entered the room, while Shinra glanced to the left and right cautiously before closing the door back.

The knocking on the door sounded familiar to Ran. Three times, sounding loud and stern, somehow. She stood still near her bed, unsure whether to open or let the visitor be. There were no signs of Shinra—something could've happened to him. Her paranoid mind started to assume.

"H-How did you know that's Ran's room?" Shinra, blinking rapidly, questioned. He was very confused at the moment.

_That voice was Shinra alright_, Ran thought. She was relieved that nothing serious happened to him. Deciding that it wasn't a dangerous visitor—probably Shizuo or someone else—Ran opened the door.

…and nearly jumped back when she saw who it was. Lucky she had a very high self-control level.

Izaya chuckled. "Hi," the man greeted simply, the smirk still plastered on his face. He seemed like he was enjoying the process of messing with Ran's mind, as he was smirking the whole time. The brunette managed to keep a straight face. "What do you want?" she asked in a monotone voice.

"I found something rather interesting from Shiki-san." He stated, still smirking. He really was enjoying the moment—he should be, as a sociopath that was playing around with the mind of his favorite human. She didn't like the fact that he actually _succeeded _in the attempt. It was disturbing her. Everything still lingered, the cold fingers that was at the back of her head digging into her hair, the feel of his lips, even his tongue.

Dammit, she should've bit his tongue.

"What?" Ran controlled herself not to lash out at him.

The man (asshole, according to Ran) slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and took something out of it. "This," he said, handing it over to Ran. The brunette unsuspectingly accepted it and examined it carefully. The item's container was round, much like a facial treatment item. There was no identity label or such. Out of curiosity, she twisted the round cap to open it.

"That," Izaya began, "to describe it shortly, would be 'disguising cream'." He paused, only to explain further. Ran's eyes that were once showing impassiveness now looked at him in full inquisitiveness. At times like this, he would bet that she was going to listen to his justification and would ask questions after. That was her typical reaction.

"The cream would stick on your skin, kind of. Why don't you try it out?" He gestured at her with his hand that wasn't inside the pocket.

From time to time, especially now, she looked like a child, he noted. He swore that those forest green eyes would change into an apple green, brighter than before. It was another irrational but interesting thing that drew Izaya in. Ran looked down to the opened container of said cream. She moved the cap under the container to hold them in one hand, while her fingers scooped a little of the cream.

"Aren't these dangerous?"

The information broker shook his head, laughing at the overly-alert girl. "Of course not, that's why I gave you that!" He replied, chuckling a bit. Hesitantly, the girl wiped the cream off of her two fingers to the skin on her left hand that was holding the container.

"Blow on it," the man instructed, and she obliged, curious of what would happen. Shinra was watching the scene all the while, blinking every second. He had no clue of what was going on.

A few seconds after, she felt the pale peach cream began to stick onto her skin like a facial mask. With her right hand fingers, Ran gently touched it and stared. "So you put this on your face, and?" she asked, this time eyes averted to look at Izaya. "You can pile dried cream over dried cream to make a new face contour, but make sure to do it fast as it hardens at contact with air," he said to her, watching in pure amusement.

Ran put the cap back on, with Shinra still watching quietly. Celty, of course, was in the room, not wanting whoever the visitor was to be aware of her headless state—but of course, Izaya knew about the truth. "I can't believe the yakuza had this," she murmured, still examining the container. Izaya chuckled.

"Just think of it as a second birthday present," he said, winking at her.

The doctor who was watching all the while blinked. "Second?" he repeated.

Izaya turned to look at Shinra, who was almost behind him. He grinned meaningfully. "Yeah, second." The reply made Shinra even more baffled—he turned around from Izaya to look at Ran with a look that was saying 'what is going on here?' only to find the female brunette's cheeks tinted in pale pink.

"You're a jerk," she said, eyes locked with Izaya's brick red ones. Apparently her insulting remarks never did affect him in a way that she wanted. He laughed, showing of pearl white teeth. Her frown deepened.

"And you still like me," he remarked teasingly, still grinning. Ran snarled. Shinra took turns looking at each of them, his gaze jumping from one to another. The doctor was obviously very bemused by the conversation.

"I never did," the girl countered sharply.

The raven-haired information broker smirked at her.

"Even if you don't, I will always do."

With that, as if his words were nothing, Izaya turned around and began to make his way towards the exit of the apartment, smiling to himself along the way. He left Shinra and Ran, who were standing near the doorway of the latter's room, blinking. They watched as Izaya closed the front door, his back vanishing. As if on cue, Celty came out of her room, fully dressed, but without the yellow helmet that usually concealed her decapitated state.

_"Who was it?" _The Dullahan's question was typed on the PDA she held.

Shinra ignored the screen that was almost shoved to his face to get his attention—the doctor turned to look at Ran instead. One hand gripping the handle of his coffee mug, the other's forefinger pointed towards the female brunette as a gesture. It was Celty's turn to observe the scene in confusion.

The bespectacled man wagged his finger a few times—it was a rather unreasonable action. "Did he," the finger pointed to the door, "Did _he _just confess," Shinra paused, as if he didn't believe what he heard,

"Did _he _just confess… to_ you_?"

Celty stood there quietly, completely not catching what they were talking about.

Ran's eyebrows furrowed.

**. . . . . **

"Oh, a post from the admin," Erika Karisawa announced as she looked at her cell phone. Her words captured the attention of her playmates, for the lack of a better term. Togusa, who was behind her, looked over her shoulder, before pulling out his own phone to check it out. Kadota and Walker did the same with theirs.

[From: Admin

Hello everyone.

You must've noticed the diminishing number of our members for the past weeks—maybe months. It started since a few months ago, maybe. It was caused by page redirection, causing our users to be redirected when opening this website and thus making them unable to come back here. They will be redirected to the homepage of a rising color gang, Black Hole. The page is disguised as a random games/entertainment page, in order to prevent people from accessing it openly. The page itself was very open, without password protections or such. I suspect that it is still under developing progress.

To stop the redirection, pay attention to your client number. It's the number that appears to identify the user every time the user sends a request to the internet browser. This is kinda complicated, but I'm sure it's easy to spot. Just remember the number, and if you're redirected, simply enter the number in the link after "client=". I found out about this yesterday and started to fix a few.

I have my own assumptions. Probably the Black Hole is trying to gather more members by forcing ours to permanently leave, and so far they succeeded using the redirecting method. While I try to fix the technical thing, I ask for your help.

Please find out more about the Black Hole.

Posted on 21st October 20xx]

"Dollars are on the move!" Togusa pumped his fist into the air.

"Be quiet. Can't you see people wearing black around here?" Kadota put his hand on Togusa's shoulder to calm him down. Erika and Walker looked around, only to be greeted by the usual scenery—people wearing black, most likely middle-aged men going to work or the like, but many of them. They still can spot a number of people wearing usual clothing without a custom color. Presumably the Dollars, they thought. _Lucky that there are still pretty much around_, Kadota mused.

_Now, how to investigate on the Black Hole…?_

**. . . . .**

Anri panted. She ran quite a few miles from her home just now… it sure was tiring the high school girl. Now she was standing in the crowded afternoon streets of Ikebukuro that was filled with various people, not to mention dust from vehicles on the streets. Her eyes shone in the color of a trademark bright scarlet—even the unusual and somewhat mystical shade didn't manage to draw attention. People were in a shade of gray, monotone, their expression showing apathy. They weren't aware of their surroundings; they merely focused on their destination and their own business.

To point out the obvious, she was trying to find anyone who was in the Saika network nearby—her children.

Among the dull, monotonous people, a few figures stood out, eyes gleaming red in response to their mother's call. The number increased, into a good twenty or so, but still people didn't notice a thing. They followed their mother into a secluded dark alleyway in the midst of tall, glamorous buildings of Ikebukuro.

Her voice was soft, with a tinge of authority inside, but still not too commanding. Her children gathered around, their red eyes staring without a particular focus.

"I need you to find out more about the Black Hole. Please be careful, they are dangerous. Stay out of harm's way," she said to them, after that she bowed. Then she ran away, as simple as that, bespectacled red eyes fading back into their original color.

Glancing at her black watch, she noted that it was almost one in the afternoon.

_Ryuugamine-kun and Masaomi-kun should be there by now_, she thought.

**. . . . .**

Mikado stared at his cell phone before closing it back. Yes, he posted it on Dollars already. The dyed blonde high school boy, who was sitting beside him inside the sushi restaurant, looked at his schoolmate rather worriedly. Mikado sighed. "Are you okay?" Kida questioned, his usually jolly and optimistic side vanished. Mikado gave him a reassuring nod. He didn't smile.

"I'm okay."

There was a pause between them, in which they pondered mentally about what to do.

And then Anri entered Russian Sushi, not unwelcomed by Simon, as she gave a shy bow to the black Russian. Her breathing was still unsteady when she took a seat in front of the two waiting boys. "Sorry," she bowed apologetically to them. The blonde shook his head, signing that it was okay.

With a clear of his throat, Masaomi seemed to regain his joyful attitude back. "Ladies and gentlemen," he lowered his voice to imitate some sophisticated host, "We gather here in this lovely afternoon…"

"Can I have your orders?" Simon came without a warning. Masaomi sent him a short glare. "I'll have the fatty tuna, thanks," he said in a manner so comical a second later. After Mikado and Anri ordered their food, the giant man saluted and rushed back to the other customers.

Kida Masaomi cleared his throat again. "Okay, we gather here in this lovely afternoon because," he gestured his right hand to Mikado.

"…this gentleman here has a few things to say, in regards to Black Hole."

As if the pale-skinned boy had just entered his imaginary stage, Kida clapped his hands softly in attempt to loosen up the tension.

A/N:

Not my best work, especially at Kida's character.

Ran doesn't have to play as Celty anymore, thanks to Izaya!

About the internet thing, personally I think it's **very** lame and stupid. And everything's fake.

Except the client number, I think _that _does exist… I'm not one to talk about computers and the like.

Aside of Kida's characterization and the internet thingy, do you find anything that seems off/wrong?

I would love to know. Review please, thanks in advance!


	28. The Best Policy

**Disclaimer **: I only own the original character and the storyline.

**Author's Note **: Thanks to **Im-Ina-Tent, Leyshla Gisel, ****Nicole0, Xxfrostblade41, RaixAngel **and** SawalRockGurl.**

**SawalRockGurl **:Hi there! Thanks for reading from the very beginning… In one day, no less. Knowing that you like this made me happy.

Chapter 28 – The Best Policy

Mikado fumbled at his first words.

"This matter is beginning to get serious," he finally began. The boy didn't make eye contact to the other boy and girl that shared the same table as he—he looked down to his worn out sneakers. "I've already asked for help on Dollars, and I'm sure they will act fast," he said again. He looked up, meeting Anri's eyes.

As he was thinking of what he should say next, Simon came along and placed the plates on the table. "Here's your order!" The Russian said. It seemed like he completely didn't know a word of what his customers were talking about, as he cheerily went off to serve the other regulars that were already waiting. Mikado watched as Simon departed.

The blondie's mouth was already filled with the fatty tuna sushi he ordered; that made his voice muffled when he said, "What are you trying to say, Mikado?" Kida questioned. Anri, being the silent girl she was, observed the scene before her.

Said high school boy awkwardly scratched the back of his head at his childhood friend's inquiry. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he really should tell them about it, but something urged him to. Since the day that the secrets between them were revealed, Mikado swore that he would never hide anything from them ever again. He learned that even the greatest of friendships would be ruined if they wouldn't open up to each other; he experienced this truth firsthand. He didn't want to keep secrets anymore—no matter what Izaya said to him. _That people would never really be honest, because a person would always keep a secret to himself, no matter how small. _

He didn't want to be the type of person who fell in the same hole twice.

"I was trying to say that… m-maybe you could find some help t-too? Considering your, um," he hesitated at the edge of his sentence, trying to find a word in his vocabulary that fits in accurately. It was no secret between the three that Anri was the Slasher.

"I did," Anri cut in while the raven-haired boy was thinking—the action of hers immediately stopped his. Mikado gaped. "S-Sonohara-san," he called out, not before blinking a few times in surprise, "you a-actually did?" he finished. The only female in the table nodded, causing her short hair to fall forward, covering the sides of her face like a curtain. "Yes," she answered politely. Her eyes didn't meet his.

Kida's response was characteristically him. He didn't hesitate to gawk—to him, Anri was a shy girl, quiet, and more observant. He surely didn't expect her to seek assistance from her children, to be honest. Moreover, Kida himself hadn't done anything with the Yellow Scarves. A part of him didn't want to be involved in dark things like these—this truth he experienced firsthand. Could he really face his comrades (ex-comrades might suit better) after everything that happened almost a year ago?

Mikado turned his head to look at Kida; the latter that was lost in thought was snapped back into reality. "Kida-kun, then…" Mikado hesitantly began, as he noticed something disappear from the blonde's eyes, "Have you…?" he purposely let his sentence hanging. Mikado was sure that Kida caught what he meant, and furthermore, the black-haired boy didn't have enough courage to ask his best friend about the topic.

Since a year ago, surely Yellow Scarves wasn't a good thing to talk about with Kida. Everything would be awkward—neither Mikado nor Anri dared to talk about it. He went on that escapade (sort of) with Saki, and that means he simply wished to forget about his troubles for a while. Now that he's back, and he insisted Mikado that he wanted to help with this…

"I haven't," he answered.

To the other two, it wasn't a surprising answer. Black Hole was currently rising—they still are—while the Dollars remained as before, if not more than before. While the two groups were aware of the other's threatening presence, the Yellow Scarves were never to be heard. Mikado and Anri both suspected that they were still in town, maybe hiding themselves in secrecy. Waiting for someone, maybe? They had two possibilities:

Horada or Kida—the former being the one that on the sly sneaked in the Blue Squares members into the Yellow Scarves, that were led by Kida at the time. The guy was probably cringing inside a cell in Ikebukuro Police Station. The three of them possibly knew about the fact, although Kida seldom thought of it.

Mikado gulped. The silence was tense.

**. . . . .**

Her daily life's fate came into a conclusion: she didn't need to take Celty's place again, since she got a fancy 'disguising cream' as her second birthday present from that damned person. She sat in front of the dressing mirror in her room.

_At least he helped this time, _Ran thought as she opened the container's cap.

She almost dipped her two fingers into the cream when contemplation came suddenly into her head. A sudden realization hit her head like a meteor mash. It was very abrupt, rapid, and unforeseen. She swore she shook a bit. Then she blinked.

_Where was Shizuo? _She silently asked herself. Did she just forget him? She swore he almost disappeared from her mind. Erika told her that the blonde man had been busy throwing his usual portion of vending machines. Since when did Shizuo disappear from her psyche? _He was at her birthday party, and she didn't remember anything. _Did they talk? Did they even do something together?

Even if she was very busy playing as Celty she normally wouldn't forget about people, _especially _someone as close to her as Shizuo.

"Nothing happened to him, right…?" she murmured hesitantly as her eyes stared down blankly on the cream, those green eyes narrowed slowly. Then she looked at her own reflection in the mirror in front of her. Her eyes were still narrowed—she looked disappointed and angry, to herself more likely.

He had been a tremendously good friend to her, provided her a place to sleep after her previous apartment had been (almost literally) destroyed. What could possibly make her _suddenly _become unaware of him? She felt ashamed of herself.

Hastily the pondering brunette wiped the cream of her fingers with a tissue paper, closed the cap tightly with her hand clenched—it was an effect of her current emotion—and quickly stood up the chair before making her way to the closet.

It would be the last time she played as Celty.

"Shit," the girl muttered to herself. _What's wrong with me? _She thought.

**. . . . .**

"I wonder where did she go," Juumon murmured, staring outside the large window which was previously covered in a curtain. His student, also a surgeon, Juan, let out a heavy breath. It seemed that he was tired of playing cat and mouse with a certain brunette—the one that his tutor had referred to. No matter how hard they tried (especially with their website redirection method), and how many they were, she would always slip out of their grasp. Like grabbing sand, it's useless. The white particles would eventually slither between your fingers. The harder the grip, the faster it glides.

At the thought, Juan clenched his fist. It turned white.

His tutor, one that he admired and looked up to, wanted to complete the incomplete. The incomplete being, of course, was Ran. There were some mistakes during her past operation when she was a newborn. She still possessed a _flaw_. And now to fix those mistakes, Juumon wanted to get her back (and he would use any way) and redo what he had done.

Juumon's wish, ambition, and goal—practically the whole thing of his life—was to create a perfect character.

There were two _very _important sayings in this case.

First: Nobody's perfect. A common saying, often used by anyone of any age, sometimes said as reasoning for someone's faults and mistakes—because nobody would be able to do _everything _perfectly. And by perfectly, people mean without anything wrong. Absolutely flawless, that no one can spot an error in that action, because it was simply _perfect_.

Second: Nothing is impossible. This may be true, but as for people like Juan and Juumon, they best not try it. Although people believed that nothing's without a solution, the two were in the wrong path. He thought it was achievable to make—_create _an astonishingly perfect _human being_. It was the contrary of the first saying.

Unfortunately, their perspective told them that the second is stronger than the first.

Not sure if they're atheists, or they're just like the freak-ish people in Ikebukuro that would do anything to achieve their goal, which always happened to be insane and pointless.

"What about the work with Dollars?" Juumon questioned the other man quietly.

Juan was almost embarrassed to answer that it didn't do any good, but he did, anyway. The respond Juan gave earned a grunt from Juumon—a disappointed one, this could be clearly seen. "I knew that numbers were worthless," he muttered lowly. Juan, sitting on the couch, stared at the floor in shame.

His teacher sighed before turning to look at his apprentice. "Don't worry, it's not our ultimate plan," he paused, closing his eyes. Then he walked across the room, reached for his white hat, and put it on.

"Not _yet_."

**. . . . .**

A puff of smoke dispersed into the air.

Shizuo Heiwajima was currently sitting down on one of the benches in Ikebukuro WGP, doing nothing except polluting the green-ish area with his cigarette. His job for the day was done, and so he decided to chill at the park. Seemed like he was alone in the area—all the better for him. At times like this, he used to think.

The first thing would be Ran. Yes, the brunette. It seemed like the relationship between them—friendship—was drifting off somewhere… that must be it, he thought. He seldom talked to her these days, hell, he didn't even meet her. Well, to be exact, maybe he didn't get the chance to meet her. Tom had been busy, and of course, she was busy too. The blonde man let out a sigh, letting the smoke float into the air. His slate eyes, not hidden by tinted glasses, wandered off to stare at the orange sky.

It would get dark soon. With that in mind, he stood up, ready to get out of the seemingly abandoned place.

As if on cue, a sound of neighing was heard. It was eerie and familiar—of course it was. Any resident of Ikebukuro, especially the youths, would be able to identify it. It belonged to the motorcycle of a very illustrious urban legend, the Headless Rider.

Celty, or rather, Ran dressed as her, stopped Shooter near Shizuo and got off the engineless bike. She used the usual PDA—a duplicate, cheaper one—and typed on it as Celty would.

_"I need to talk to you." _The text said.

Shizuo, despite already knowing the fact that it was Ran talking to him, felt like he heard her voice through the typed words. It could be caused by his knowledge that it wasn't Celty. But he was sure that it wasn't the reason. Who knows, maybe he actually missed her voice?

Ran felt lucky. She didn't have to tell him something that she thought she didn't have courage to tell. Instead of directly talking to the blonde man (she still wondered what the hell made her became ignorant of him), she got to tell him through text, how Celty usually communicates.

As a person, the brunette considered herself as a better writer than a talker. Especially now, when she felt ashamed of herself for being oblivious about one of her best friends, and when she was supposed to tell a very important thing to him.

_ "Sorry, Shizuo," _the girl began to type and showed the screen to him. They were now sitting on the previous bench Shizuo sat on—it was still warm. _"We seldom talk lately," _again, she held out the PDA for the blonde to read. Shizuo was still smoking, but that didn't stop him from replying. "It's okay, we were both busy anyway," his expression was blank as he said that. Ran's eyebrows furrowed, although it was concealed by the yellow helmet she wore.

_"There's something important I need to tell you," _she typed. Shizuo nodded after reading, signaling her to continue.

_"I won't be acting as Celty anymore." _

"Why?"

_"I got this cream that's used to create new face contours…"_

"You mean disguise?"

_"Somewhat. That way disguising as Celty isn't necessary."_

Shizuo nodded as he comprehended what she was saying. She wouldn't be appearing around town as Celty anymore—and as a replacement, she would be disguising as someone else, a complete stranger.

"Where'd you get that cream anyway?"

Ran gulped. She knew he would ask about that, and she would eventually have to answer his question. It was inevitable. Ran thought that she had the courage to _type _Izaya's name, but now she was frozen. She didn't want Shizuo to think that their friendship drifted apart because of that asshole…

Was it really because of Izaya?

Shizuo sensed her answer through her silence. "Izaya gave it to you, didn't he?" the blonde stated in his usual low voice. His expression was still blank, not the normal rage that occurred whenever people addressed the informant or when he saw the flea in person.

_"Yeah," _Ran typed. It was easier to communicate through writing, at times like this. For if she were to talk to Shizuo directly, her tongue would've been tied. Ran's green eyes avoided his slate ones that stared into the helmet, seemingly piercing through them.

Maybe it _was_ Izaya that made this awkward situation between them, Shizuo thought.

**. . . . .**

Beep—the alien sound was heard among the silence of the trio. Shocked, Mikado tucked his hand into his pocket, struggling to get something out of it. Kida and Anri witnessed the scene, still quiet. They wondered about what made the sound.

There, on black-haired male's palm, was a gadget that they had seen before—jet black, but now there was a small red light blinking continuously. "What happened?" Kida asked, as he and Anri was informed of its function. "Did it record something?" The blonde scooted closer and leaned his ear towards the device, trying to listen something if he was able to.

Mikado pressed the button in the middle of the small object after tucking it on his ear. It was a bluetooth headset, after all. The beep before was similar to the ones heard while recording voice notes.

"I think it's recording something," Mikado murmured. Anri paid more attention to the boy.

Static was heard—Mikado's left eye narrowed a little at the disturbing sound.

_"I wonder where did she go,"_he heard a low voice said. Kida seemed to hear the voice too. The two looked at each other for a few seconds, stunned.

Mikado quickly unattached the bluetooth headset and pulled out his cell phone, in order to connect the two devices via bluetooth. That way he could transfer the voice note that was recorded from the headset to his own phone.

Understanding his friend's action, Kida leaned away and munched another fatty tuna anxiously.

A/N:

Ah, done, finally. I'm sorry for the wait.

This chapter covers the (faint) relationship between Ran and Shizuo, and the cause of it being Izaya.

Shizuo notices, Ran doesn't. Well, not yet, maybe.

Sorry for the slow development in the plot—it's kinda hard to think of what to write next…

As always, review~


	29. Moving

**Disclaimer **: I only own the original characters and the plot.

**Author's Note **: A shame, really. Hundreds of hits and only a few actually reviewed... Anyway, thanks to **RaixAngel, SnOw-CoVeReD-AnGel **(really, your penname is very difficult)**, easily1994addicted, I'm A Person To**, and **Leyshla Gisel**~ Sorry if I missed a few!

Chapter 29 – Moving

To Ran, the concealing balm was not being used as it is. The peach, pale cream itself could've been used by people that wanted to live an entirely new life by being someone different. An ex-prisoner or even a terrorist would very much want to do that. The only way without surgical operation (and the high expense to do so) was this… rather scandalous cream, judging by the way she received it a day after her birthday… from Izaya...

_Self, stop thinking about it, _she muttered inwardly.

She didn't want to lead a new existence by being somebody else. She wasn't seeking for it. She didn't wish for it. In fact, she was quite happy with hers—until this Black Hole riot came along.

The green-eyed girl stared at her phone; a PDA that resembled Celty's in order to help her disguise—her earlier disguise, to be exact. On the screen of the black phone was a text from Mikado that she received, approximately, six and a half minutes ago. The text itself was shocking, to say the very least.

Imagine you were sitting quietly inside your secluded room, just thinking, when there was a buzz on your cell phone that signaled a text, sending a _voice note_ along with it.

Ran had only been receiving texts on rare occasions; the only unfussy instant was when she decided to hang out with the van gang. For her to receive one in broad daylight (not really, since the curtains were closed and the room was dimly lit…), and from _Mikado _who was helping her fight against the Black hole—it was shocking.

A voice note, for heaven's sake! And the moment she listened to it, her heart seemed to leap up towards her throat—it was _not_ the type of heart attack when your crush texted you out of the blue—and it definitely did not make her happy. It made her resolve shake and the stun it caused seeped slowly inside her skin, causing her to _still_ feel the surprise even six and a half minutes after opening it. Ran was starting to think that she had a brain-freeze of some sort.

_The surprise wasn't even pleasant_, she thought.

She could recognize the voices of her enemies after the static was through. Two tones of voices, one young and the other old—their identities were certainly clear and out of the question. Anyone that knew about this matter—be it Mikado, Shinra, Celty, Izaya, whoever!—would easily recognize the voices.

Juumon and Juan, obviously the two had a plan all along. "An ultimate one," Ran mumbled to herself in the silence of her room in Shinra's apartment, "but not yet?" she finished in an indecisive tone, copying the words of Juumon that she heard through the voice note.

Whatever the 'ultimate plan' was, it must engage her (as the target, of course) and the second time of dissecting her. _The old man_, Ran thought to herself, _what's with that strange craze? Dare I think it as an ambition? _

But the old man had told his student "not yet"—which means the time had yet to come, and they shouldn't rush it.

So when, when would they finally _commence_ this ultimate plan and finally _scrutinize_ her to achieve her father's life-long, downright insane 'ambition' to create a perfect human being?

Ran groaned and threw herself backwards, plopping on the bed.

It had been a long time since she chatted in Dollars.

**. . . . .**

At the same time in Shinjuku, a certain sociopath of an informant that was, perhaps, busy toying with local residents (trolling them, to be exact) also received the same text and voice note from Mikado. He tapped his finger on the table, synchronizing each tap with the tick of the clock, watching intently on the chat bubbles that emerged one by one, making the ones that came out earlier disappear below the screen.

Unpredictably, 'Rikawa-chan' was online.

Oh sure, her username was Rikawa Rika, but knowing Izaya, he would love to add '–chan' behind her name. After all, she was his favorite.

His fingers kept tapping. He didn't reply anything else after saying his usual "good afternoon~" to the residents of the visual room.

She was his favorite. The common, customary, standard sentence of his was starting to sound odd in the voice of his mind. She was his favorite—favorite _what_? Favorite human would do, normally, but this time even the normal seemed to be abnormal.

Come to think of it, Ikebukuro's normal _was_ abnormal.

At any way, he didn't think that the word 'human' would complete that trademark sentence of his. Then what? She was his favorite—favorite pawn? _Usually _he also would prefer that word, but it didn't seem to fit in.

Izaya frowned.

_Favorite_, he thought, _favorite toy? Favorite… doll? Hell, favorite _food_?_

The raven-haired informant smirked at the last one.

A chat bubble from Mikado caught his eye, and effectively stopped his tapping fingers.

**Tanaka **: Kanra-san, you're so quiet today.

**Tanaka **: Is there anything wrong?

**Setton **: Wow, this rarely happens. Is something up?

**Kanra **: Sorry, sorry~

**Kanra **: You could say that I zoned out.

**Rikawa **: Why the hell would you zone out?

**Tanaka **: Something on your mind, Kanra-san?

A chime was heard from his speakers.

**Private chat request from Tanaka**

Without even thinking, the informant pressed 'Accept'. He had done this a dozen times before, after knowing that Tanaka Taro was actually Mikado Ryuugamine. What he didn't expect was another chime.

**Private chat request from Rikawa**

He smirked—what now? Did he suddenly transform into the popular guy after staying quiet for only a few minutes? Nevertheless, he accepted the request from Ran, secretly wondering what she would want to say. It was very rare to have the brunette move first. Izaya supposed it was a good chance to learn about the girl more.

**. . . . .**

**Entering private chat mode**

**Tanaka **: Izaya-san

**Kanra **: Hm~?

**Tanaka **: Were you thinking about the voice note?

Mikado's eyebrows almost met as he private-chatted with Kanra—or Izaya, as he already acknowledged the person. His assumption may be true, since he just sent the text along with the voice note to Ran and said informant… it didn't seem to psychologically affect the girl, though. _Maybe because she experienced much mental pressure alike in the past_, Mikado wondered. She had been dissected when she was a newborn, of course it was hard (and surprising) for her to find out about it during her childhood—a time which was meant to be a very innocent, carefree time.

The high school boy sighed. It had been an hour since the meet-up in Russian Sushi. Kida didn't talk much. Anri was quiet, as usual. At least they got help from the Saika network…

Not that Mikado wanted Anri to slash more people.

Well, not that the girl would do it, anyway.

A ding from his computer speakers brought him back to reality.

**Kanra **: Of course.

**Kanra **: It's a matter worth thinking of.

**Tanaka **: I agree… but what exactly were you thinking of?

**Kanra **: Their 'ultimate plan'

**Kanra **: And when will they start it

Mikado noticed that Izaya's… _style _of talking virtually was sterner, conceivably because of their serious topic of conversation. Private chats with Izaya had always been less serious than it should be, since he used emoticons a lot. It seemed very out of character of him to take things critically when he usually thought of them merely as games that should be fun to play with.

Something was different about him.

**Tanaka **: We should figure out their plan first.

**Kanra **: Of course, Sherlock~

**Kanra **: We could estimate when they would commence the plan after we figure out _what _the plan is~! :)

Mikado took his words back… Izaya's change was only temporarily. The high school boy sighed at the informant's 'comeback'. He shouldn't have taken it seriously.

But it still left him thinking about it.

**Tanaka **: Uh, exactly.

**Tanaka **: But still, it would be hard to figure out their plan…

**Kanra **: Don't worry, I'll try~

**Tanaka **: Try what?

**Kanra exited private chat mode.**

"Eeeh? Izaya-san, what—" The dark haired boy sighed. Kanra unexpectedly exited the private chat mode… Did something just hit him in the head of some sort? Mikado scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, a comical sweat-drop appearing near his cheek.

_Maybe Izaya-san was going to 'try'… _Mikado thought, although he wasn't sure what did Izaya mean.

Mikado grunted as he tried to stand up from his seat in front of the PC.

**. . . . .**

Izaya swore he shouldn't start a private chat with two people… at once.

The man picked up the white mug that sat on the left side of his computer and drank the coffee inside it, eyebrows wrinkling due to the confusion of chatting with two people at once—also because of the bitter taste of coffee in his throat. It usually didn't taste _that _bitter… He should remind Namie about that.

The chat with Ran was, more or less, like his conversation with Mikado. About the plan, what could be it, how to decipher what the plan was, and finally, when would they finally set it up. The last part was crucial, but still, they couldn't find out when if they still weren't aware about what the plan actually was. Izaya put the mug back down.

It was still a hard job at typing a reply for two people at the same time…

Leaning back at the comfortable (and spinning) office chair of his, Izaya began to think. Trolling the Shinjuku occupants weren't as fun as it used to be—it soon became a boring routine. Well, boring, compared to the problem he had to solve beforehand.

He got up from the chair with a grunt, partly reluctant to leave the warmth of the seat, and made his way towards the sofa where his jacket was placed. Namie wasn't there, he noted. Izaya could sense her presence in his office like an ant crawling up his arm—he got used to it soon after she started working for him.

After putting his fur-trimmed jacket on, Izaya left after locking the door.

He was, as he had told Mikado, going out to 'try'.

**. . . . .**

Celty entered the living room only to find Ran sitting on the couch, her white laptop placed on her… lap, as the name of the gadget suggested.

"Oh, Celty," she acknowledged the Dullahan's presence as she looked at said headless female. "Anything you need?" Ran asked again, this time averting her gaze towards the screen in front of her. Celty typed on her PDA a 'no' before taking a seat beside the younger girl.

Ran closed the lid of the notebook and looked at Celty. "So, are you going out?"

_"I suppose. Shinra got me another job."_

The brunette didn't know how to respond properly—she merely nodded.

_"About the cream; have you decided?"_

"Oh," Ran replied before thinking for a while. "I've thought about it, but I'm not that sure…" She fell silent again, not looking at Celty. "But I _am_ gonna use it."

From the faint movement of her neck, Ran could tell that Celty nodded. The Dullahan typed again in reply. _"Good luck, then. I'm going out."_

Ran nodded. "Be careful."

Celty zipped up her leather jacket and put on her usual yellow helmet on before exiting the apartment, leaving Ran alone in the living room. Shinra himself got another job—it was Ran's assumption, since the brown-haired man left earlier that day. It was already late afternoon, the brunette noted as she looked at the wall clock.

She sighed.

Maybe she should start thinking about how she should _make_ herself look like instead of what Juumon and Juan's plan was…

**. . . . .**

Ikebukuro West Gate Park was, as usual, very quiet at that time of day. Shizuo sighed; smoke puffing out from his mouth before it dissipated in the air. The sky was orange.

It somehow reminded him of the color of Ran's jacket.

Why he suddenly thought of that brunette, you might ask. It was because a sudden text—yes, he rarely receive texts or calls, because most of it were just from Tom—along with a voice note came to his cell phone that afternoon, about an hour before. It wasn't very surprising to find out that the Black Hole people were at it again.

But he was relieved that the bug he and Shinra installed was worth it.

Although that means he would be aiming for the same goal as Iza—no, the flea…

He did this for Ran.

The blonde was aware that there wasn't much he could do, but he should try his best. He hated the idea of a perfect person, anyway, because it was simply impossible.

Reaching for the cell phone in his pocket, Shizuo forwarded the message to Kadota Kyohei.

**. . . . .**

Ran was now aware about a few things:

The cream was limited—she could only use it a few times to form a complete face contour. Ran wasn't sure if Izaya had more with him, but it was best not to waste it.

The dried cream could be peeled off her skin quite easily, like a mask that sticks onto skin, but it was pretty easy to peel it (she felt like a snake while doing so*).

The cream was unable to make her face look fatter or skinnier. She could, actually, but she would need more amount of cream to pile them up and stick it to her face… back to point number one.

Paint could be used only on dried cream to make different shades of skin color, but if so, she'd have to change the color of her hands and legs too… back to point number one.

She sat in front of the mirror, back in her room. Instead of thinking about the very, very indistinguishable plan of her father and his student, she should be working on a new disguise. Despite what it looked like in movies, it was actually very hard. She didn't know where to begin.

Opening the cap, Ran dipped her two fingers into the cream.

_Do or die_, the brunette thought.

A/N:

Ah, I'm so happy! Finals are **over** and finally the **two-month holiday** is here!

Not sure if I'm gonna be on a vacation or whatnot, just stay tuned and wait for chapter 30~

Also, since it's been a long time since I've written a story, I think they're **all**OOC.

Not all, I guess just Izaya and Shizuo… I really need to sharpen up my writing (-_-)

…**and **think about what would happen next.

Wish me luck and review to tell me what you think!


	30. Blank

**Disclaimer **: The series isn't mine—the original characters and the plot are mine, though.

**Author's Note **: Thanks to **Kumiko Fukuda**, **Leyshla Gisel**, and **Cena Mirage**.

Chapter 30 – Blank

A troll was in town. Of course, as you all may know, the troll was Izaya Orihara, the infamous skillful informant. He had been prowling around Ikebukuro for the past two days, stalking his specific target—the Black Hole bosses, Juumon and Juan.

Instead of finding said men, Izaya noticed the change that happened while he was out. As he had described to Mikado, he was going to 'try'—trying to stalk the two Js. Izaya grunted; since when did he gave them a nickname as cheesy as that?

The important thing that he recently figured out was the fact that people in town wearing black slowly disappeared. In other words, the Black Hole's gang was decreasing. Sure, the black-haired young man could still spot people wearing black, but not all of them were part of Black Hole. It would be unfair to assume like that. In any way, their numbers were decreasing and he was very certain of that.

He gripped his switchblade inside the pocket of his jacket while pacing on a side of the street, making his way towards a certain building. He wasn't in a hurry—he was never in a hurry. Izaya Orihara had all the time he needed. It was not far from the center of town, pretty close to Russian Sushi, actually. He wouldn't go too far away from a place he liked. The man arrived in front of a hotel and entered. The receptionist in the front desk seemed to recognize him, since she looked up and back to her papers again after looking at Izaya. The man entered with ease and waited for the lift to arrive.

As soon as it did, he pressed button number six and it didn't take too much time until the lift dinged once, signaling his arrival on the sixth floor. Izaya seemed to be familiar with the place as he marched in an unhesitant way towards a room.

With a 'snick', Izaya inserted the key card and entered the room. He didn't bother to turn on the lights, considering it was still ten in the morning and it was a sunny day, and directly headed to a chair that sat right in front of a glass window. He opened the curtain that blocked the view of the city and took out his binocular.

Izaya Orihara was a man that would do anything to achieve what he wanted. Renting a hotel room just across an apartment he wanted to stalk wasn't an exception. Yes, earlier that day he checked in to the hotel, bringing along a small bag to avoid unnecessary curiosity, and put some of his work things there before going out to town, hoping he could trace Juumon or Juan.

Using the binocular he always had with him, he started observing the apartment across his hotel through the glass, which towered from the ceiling to the floor. It provided a full view of everything, including the pedestrians down below. He could see them clearly from the height.

_No signs of life_, Izaya noted after the five-minute watch of the apartment. He took off his jacket. Of course—Juan's apartment's window was always closed with a black curtain (bad choice of color, he commented) and no one seemed to be home every time he looked. The voice note Mikado sent proved otherwise. They were inside the apartment around twelve in the afternoon yesterday. He glanced at the clock hanging at the wall to his left. It was still early. The man put his binocular down and sighed in annoyance.

Should he watch longer, just in case? He wondered before looking at the apartment once again.

His red-tinted eyes widened an expression that he didn't show for too long appeared. He was surprised.

The black curtains were opened slightly, enough to reveal a figure of a man with glasses, speaking on the phone with a serious expression plastered on his face. That must be Juan Kagoyama, he smirked to himself. _Lucky me_, the man thought. He grabbed the papers on a dressing table and looked at the front page.

Juan's photo and name was there, the latter printed in bold kanji and katakana for his first name, along with some other details about him written below. Age, date of birth, and the kind—Izaya didn't really need his address. The person he spotted was certainly him, Izaya was sure of it.

Izaya saw Juan once again, this time through binoculars. He closed his own curtain a little, careful not to get caught. The other bespectacled man closed him phone and wore a coat. _He's going out_, Izaya's analyzing mind announced, _and so am I._

Said informant put his jacket back on and exited his hotel room, not before locking it. After taking a lift down, he pushed the rotating doors of the hotel and walked across the street, looking to his left and right—ah, there. His prime target was moving. Izaya smirked; he was an expert at this. All he needed to do was pull some strings.

**. . . . .**

Ran wasn't happy. She was never happy in the past few days. There was always one thing that only served to piss her off. And as if one was never enough, this time two things came to leave her irritated.

The first: a phone call from Namie. And by Namie, she meant Namie Yagiri. The brunette knew only a little about the Pharmaceuticals—the fact that Yagiri Pharmaceuticals was merged with Nebula Inc. was the only thing she knew. It was much surprise for her to receive a call from the ex-head herself, and it was another surprise to find out that she was actually working for Izaya.

_"Orihara-san told me to call you at once," _was what she had said through the phone.

The second: the message Izaya told Namie to pass on to her.

_"What does he want?" _

_ "He asked me to inform you about something."_

_ "And that is?"_

_ "I received a message from him a few minutes ago. It said: _Immediately after you receive this fax, Namie-san, call a contact named Ran Ryogo from my cell phone and read this to her. Juan is heading to Shibuya doing who-knows-what. I suspect that your family might be in danger, so I told Kadota about the matter. He and his cronies are also heading to Shibuya right now." _Namie paused to take a breath before reading the rest of the message._ "Wait for my next message."

_Ran was silent before she asked a question. "Namie-san, do you have any idea why Izaya chose not to contact me directly?"_

_ "That sick man might be busy scheming something." At the sharp retort, Ran chuckled. "It seems that we have the same opinion. Well, thank you, if that's all."_

_ "I'm afraid there's more," Namie replied. She took Ran's silence as a signal to continue. "_P.S. If you've prepared a disguise, you shouldn't use it first before I tell you to."

What was the 'sick man' actually planning? Ran growled at the thought. The disguise mask she spent four hours creating sat on the dressing table, useless. "He thinks I'm a pawn he could use?" the girl spat. She was _still _in the passenger seat, after sitting there for so long. _Does he really think that he could _control_ me? _Ran thought again, frustrated.

The disguise mask she created for hours was useless in its perfection. _There goes cream, wasted for nothing_, Ran mentally told herself. She crumpled the makeshift face and threw it inside the dustbin just beside the dressing table. Dried cream couldn't stick on skin—it was already dry after all.

Now what could she do? Back to the hiding phase she thought she escaped? Ran plopped herself on to the bed, causing the plush furniture to bounce a little. Should she just _trust _in what the raven-haired informant was planning? Ran's eyes opened at the thought. There was no way she could put her faith in that man—that _sick _man.

Ran was concerned about her family, out of everything—her father, two brothers, one younger and the other older, and her mother. Although she was merely an adopted child, they took care of her as if she was their own. She could never thank them enough. Despite the fact that she was dissected as a newborn in a scientific (barbaric) experiment, everyone in her family was the one that made a better childhood for her.

The brunette suddenly felt homesick.

At least Izaya was clever enough to think about her family's safety and send Kadota and co. there. The girl winced—now they were trying to involve her family into this.

She wouldn't be able to forgive them, not even herself.

Ran let out a helpless breath. She could do nothing but rot inside Shinra's apartment that day—or maybe even for the next days to come, all because of Izaya and his schemes.

**. . . . .**

**Tanaka Taro entered the chat room.**

**Tanaka **: Hello~ ^^

**Tanaka **: Ah, nobody's here yet?

Mikado sighed as he stared at the screen, only showing the chat bubbles that were his own. No one seemed to be online at this time of day. He glanced at the clock—it was only four in the afternoon. He was still dressed in his Raira winter uniform, as he just came back from school. The black-haired boy recalled the events that occurred at school earlier that day.

Izaya told him through a text message about Juan's—and the van gang's—movement to Shibuya. Said informant also notified, in the same text, that Juan might be targeting Ran's family. Like Izaya, Mikado did not fail to notice that the number of Black Hole members was decreasing. But how was it possible? Juan or Juumon couldn't possibly _kill _them—there were just so many of the members.

_What about the website? _Mikado began to wonder about it. After minimizing the chat screen, he opened a tab on his internet browser. The school boy couldn't forget about Black Hole's website address.

A ping that sounded through his speakers made his attention turn away from the loading screen for a moment. With a few clicks, he minimized the internet browser and opened the chat screen once again. Someone was online, for sure.

**Saika **: Good afternoon.

It was Sonohara Anri. At the sight of the username, Mikado felt a small blush creeping up to his face. _No, no, now's not to time to think about her, Mikado! _He held his head with his two hands before attempting to calm himself down. His hands rested on the keyboard and began to type a reply.

**Tanaka **: Afternoon, Saika-san.

The ever so familiar ping sounded again. Mikado blinked.

**Private chat request from Saika**

Without thinking, the high school student clicked 'Accept'. It seemed like the bespectacled classmate of his had already got used to the private chat mode. Mikado recalled the last time she had a private chat—well, not private at all, he should say. Said boy smiled faintly at the memory. Even during his second year in Raira, Anri was assigned to the same class as he.

**Entering private chat mode**

**Saika **: Ryuugamine-kun

**Tanaka **: Yes?  
><strong>Saika <strong>: It seemed like I couldn't help more with this matter.

**Tanaka **: Eh!  
><strong>Saika <strong>: D-Don't misunderstand! I mean…

**Saika **: My 'children' don't seem to know much about Black Hole.

**Saika **: And, speaking of the Black Hole…

**Tanaka **: Their numbers are decreasing now.

**Tanaka **: It's like the first time they were created—very little.

**Saika **: I agree. Not everyone wearing black should be suspected as a member.

**Tanaka **: Ah, right! I'm on their website right now.

**Tanaka **: Wait a sec and let me check…

**Saika **: I see, okay.

Mikado minimized the screen again and clicked on the internet browser. What he expected to see was a simple forum-like screen where people could post—the one he saw before when he first opened the page. But things didn't go the way he guessed it would.

**The requested URL could not be retrieved**

His dark eyes widened at the sight of the screen. "What…?" the boy whispered. He read the letters written below the rather big letter.

**Sorry, we couldn't find the web page that you requested. Make sure that you typed the web address correctly, and try again. **

**Error Code: 10006**

_Did I type it wrong? _His eyes looked at the top of the screen where the address he typed could be seen. Mikado searched for an error—he could be missing a letter, but that rarely happened because he was rather skilled on the computer. He loaded the screen once again, hoping that the Black Hole's webpage could be seen as usual. _Did they block the page?_ He asked himself. But if it really was blocked, the screen should show a message that sounded like _'you don't have permission to view this page'_.

Mikado gulped. Then, there was only one conclusion.

The page was deleted.

He went back to the chat screen.

**Tanaka** : They deleted the page.

**Saika **: W-What?

**Tanaka **: It was deleted from the World Wide Web.

**Tanaka **: Gone.

**Saika **: …do you have idea why, Ryuugamine-kun?

"There's only one person to ask," he mumbled to himself and grabbed his phone.

**Tanaka **: I'll try and gather information for now, Sonohara-san.

**Tanaka **: Thank you for your help.

**Tanaka Taro exited private chat mode.**

A/N:

I haven't got too many reviews, but I know that there are plenty of people reading this…

Which made me kinda down, but I think I'll get used to it -_-


	31. KadotaIsSeriouslyStupid

**Disclaimer **: I do not own the series Durarara! Ran and OCs are mine.

**Author's Note **: Got plenty of reviews! Thanks to **Mz-Guitar-Chik**, **Sumikai**, **Z**, **SawalRockGurl**, **Kiriari**, **ILoveReadingAndWriting**, **.**,** Wafia Primo **and **Yellow Mittens **for doing anything to fill up my email inbox. I love you guys.

**Reviews for this story are almost 100! Keep it up please! I might seldom tell you this, but I really appreciate people reading this story. Without readers, authors are nothing. Feedbacks are always welcome!**

Chapter 31 – Kadota-Is-Seriously-Stupid

**[Title hints something. Read till finish first. Hopefully you'll be able to get the message.]**

Ran was awoken by the sound of a knock on the door of her room. She whimpered almost pathetically, her half-awake state didn't even bother noticing what kind of sound she produced. The only thing she knew was she was sleeping—not anymore—and someone woke her up. The brunette sent a weak glance at the wall clock that hung at her left. Her eyes, despite the dim lighting of the room, registered the information that it was morning—_two _in the morning. "Ugh," groaned the girl as she facepalmed herself.

She walked towards the door slower than her usual pace. It was almost reluctant. Who could be visiting her at this time of day?—uh, or night, considering that it was still dark? She never did receive midnight visits like this. Wait, she did, once. And the visitor himself was Orihara Izaya… the troll only came to kiss her. Ran shut her eyes at the thought. _What am I thinking!_

With a small creak, the door opened, revealing a figure of someone she knew rather well.

"Kadota…? What are you—how did—"

The man put a finger on his mouth, signaling her to quiet down. He looked at her sternly, silently telling her that she could save her questions later. "We're going to Shibuya, and I mean now. Write a note, tell Shinra that you are staying at your parents' for a while and you're fine. Hurry," he whispered all those instructions. Ran felt like she was being kidnapped, but it would be a funny thing since her captor was one of her buddies. She walked to living room, towards the memo pad beside the TV that Shinra always used to write notes on. After writing the short note, she tore it quickly to avoid making any sounds. Kadota stood by the entrance of the apartment.

When he saw Ran walking to another room—the kitchen—said man's eyes widened. "Hey," he shout-whispered, "where are you going?" he said and followed her inside the kitchen. "Shinra knows I never leave without drinking any coffee," Ran pulled down the lever of the tamper and coffee powder poured down into her cup. She swiftly added hot water from the thermos. "So I'm making some," she finished.

Kadota Kyohei understood that the brunette did it to steer clear of Shinra's suspicion—that doctor could be sharp at unexpected times, he thought. He looked at Ran taking a big gulp from the mug before placing it slowly on the sink. "Let's go." The girl nodded.

"Oh, wait," she halted when Kadota opened the door.

"What now?"

"My cell's in my room."

"Go and get it."

**. . . . .**

It seemed like punks were taking a break that night. Ran and Kadota didn't spot anyone on the streets. It _was _pretty late, but a dangerous place like Ikebukuro usual had those night-lurkers around—they were partly similar to Izaya, but less, much less brainy. Lucky there weren't any thugs around. Togusa's van was right in front of the building, shunning away from the street light. Ran entered through the back and found out that Erika and Walker were also there. The two smiled at her as an acknowledgement. Kadota took the front passenger seat as usual.

"Why are we going to Shibuya? And what do you mean about me living together with my parents?" she fired the questions quietly. Kadota, from his seat, turned to look at Ran who was sitting with the two other otakus. "Not yet," he answered her question. "We're gonna pick someone up first."

_Apparently Kadota enjoys building tensions_, Ran noted. "…who?" she finally asked after a few seconds past in silence. This time Kadota didn't look at Ran.

"We're getting Shizuo."

"Shizuo?" she repeated the name. The name instantly brought up all her thoughts about their not-so-good relationship. They've drifted apart of each other—or maybe it was she who left him? She surely didn't want to distance away from that man. They were good friends. Too bad that sentence was in past tense instead of simple present. What made them become like this, really? She asked herself that question over and over.

This time Erika responded instead of Kadota. "M-hmm, you know, Orihara Izaya was the one that told us about this plan."

Ah, of course, the infamous, sly, pain-in-the-neck informant. Yagiri Namie was kind enough (if not reluctantly, judging by the cold tone of her voice) to read the message to her yesterday. Shit, Ran left the cream inside her room. The girl bit her bottom lip upon realization, but then she remembered Izaya's 'orders' not to use her disguise first after who knows what he was planning.

"What _is _the plan anyway?" she asked.

"Um," Yumasaki spoke up, "something about you staying in your parents' house with Shizuo and he will kick ass if anyone tries to abduct you?" the young man sort-of elaborated. Ran chuckled, an eyebrow raised. "You guys kinda abducted me back there," she teased.

"It's abduction if you're resisting. I see that you're not," Kadota retorted.

She scowled. "Who would not resist if it involves waking up in the middle of the night?"

"We're here," the small friendly argument was broken by Togusa's voice, announcing their arrival. Shizuo, to Ran's surprise, was already standing at the sidewalk, waiting for the gang to pick him up. Assuming that there must be no room for him at the second row, he walked towards the back of the van and lifted the door up.

When he was inside, the door shut with a noise. "Yo," he greeted Ran as they made eye contact. The green-eyed girl balanced her arm in the middle of the plush seat. "You've heard?" she asked.

"What, about the plan?"

Ran nodded.

"Sort of," he lit his cigarette. Everyone inside the car, excluding Ran who was paying attention, rolled their windows down for ventilation.

"Where'd you heard about it?"

Shizuo let out a puff of smoke through his mouth and he gestured with the cigarette between his fingers towards Kadota. Ran nodded as she understood.

"Walker told me that it's about… me staying in my parents' house with you and you'll kick ass if anyone tries to abduct me?" she ended the sentence unsurely. Walker—and Erika—giggled as they noted that she said it exactly like Walker did. Shizuo smirked and let out another breath of smoke. "Looks like that's about it," he mumbled, eyes closed.

_Wait a second… _

"Guys?" she called out. Everybody looked at her—even Togusa managed through the rearview mirror. "Are we seriously going to my parents' house at this time of day… uh, or night?" she asked again, side-glancing to Erika and Walker.

"No," Togusa answered this time. "Seems like that guy booked a hotel room for a rest. Then we'll go to your parents' in the morning."

Erika gasped. "A hotel room?" she nearly exclaimed.

"What about it?" Walker asked, turning towards his otaku buddy.

"You mean only _one _hotel room?" she gushed, the sentence aimed to Togusa. Said driver blinked rapidly, still focusing on the road. "W-Well, that's what he told me…" he unconfidently responded.

The air inside the van, save for Shizuo's polluting, seemed thicker as awkwardness enveloped them. Beside Erika and Walker with their constant burst of giggles, Kadota even got a minor blush on his face. Togusa inwardly cursed at Erika's sharpness and regretted mentioning the topic.

Ran hoped they weren't thinking about anything dirty.

She blinked twice, realizing something.

"Kadota," she asked, making the beanie-wearing man turn back to look at her.

"How did you get into Shinra's apartment earlier?"

The man smirked. "I have Harima Mika's lock-pick."

Again, she winced. After this whole riot, she swore she would get her hands on the goddamn tool and kill it. Kill it with fire.

"Listen, guys," she broke the silence, "I don't want my family to get involved in this." She paused, ignoring Erika and Walker's concerned stare at her. Seemed like the no one had ever heard her that serious (if not miserable) before. "I don't want them to get hurt either."

"Which is why I'm here," Shizuo mumbled, the cigarette still resting between his lips. "Listen, I can assure you it would be fine. And finally, when everything is over, I can kill that flea." He said again. Ran snorted at that. "Just try not to lose control and kill him on the spot. He's playing mastermind now," she paused, "and I definitely don't like it."

Erika squealed. "I sense BL!" At that, even fellow otaku Walker dropped a sweat. "Um, Erika, I think that is pretty much impossible…" he finished off uncertainly. Kadota was the one to verify all of their thoughts. "They kill each other."

That didn't manage to pull Erika down from her cloud of thoughts.

**. . . . .**

The hotel room was much like the one Izaya rented in Ikebukuro to spy on Juan; the only difference was this one had two beds. Of course, he couldn't possibly want Ran to sleep in the same bed as Shizuo—the only human he didn't love. At the thought of the blonde, super-powered man, he scoffed. He forgot the reason why he put Shizuo inside his plan—right, because he could throw a fucking vending machine. Just in case double Js assault on Ran were much more than they could handle, Shizuo would be there to destroy everything.

He checked the clock once again, only to find that five minutes had passed since he last checked it. It was almost three in the morning.

Izaya inspected everything in the room—beds, bathroom, dressing table—to check if there was anything. _This is what I get for staying near her, _he thought. Ran's paranoia was starting to infect him as well. Damn that girl. He wanted to see her soon. Izaya snickered.

Was it a human feeling he sensed inside him? 'He wanted to see her soon'? Was there a simple word to define that sentiment… longing? He was longing for her—what a questionable sentence. Izaya sat on the neatly made bed. He'd better not lie to himself—he did think of wanting to see her soon. Wanting—was it the same, if compared to words 'craving' or even something as far as 'lusting'?

Anyhow, he wanted her here with him. Just both of them would be nice.

This happened in a rare occasion. Mikado couldn't sleep and it was, what—three hours past midnight?

The boy consulted about the "The requested URL could not be retrieved" thing that happened to Izaya. He called him right after he ended his private chat with Sonohara last night. The informant, of course, being the person he was, acknowledged the decreasing of Black Hole. He told Mikado that he was still working on the cause of the decrease, but he also said that it actually didn't matter. Izaya also said that the point of the case wasn't in Ikebukuro, but in Shibuya.

_Orihara-san is in Shibuya right now. _Mikado's eyebrows creased and then he let out a sigh. Maybe there was nothing he could do… Izaya was right about one thing though—he could never be satisfied with his life. Mikado always wanted to know more; he was a curious boy and he knew it. The moment he jumped into the thrill of big city life, he knew that he loved it. He didn't enjoy his normal daily life—he lived like that for years before arriving at Ikebukuro.

All he could do was wonder of what Izaya was planning to do.

"I hope everybody's safe…"

**. . . . .**

"We're here." Togusa announced as the van stopped in front of a minimalist building. "Ran and Shizuo, you both head to room 112. It's on the first floor. Ran, I advise you to enter alone, Izaya's there," Kadota said, smirk-glancing to Shizuo for a split second. "We're going back to Ikebukuro and ride the bullet train here once their services are open. Togusa and I will bring the van, Erika and Walker will use the train." He said again. The two otakus saluted military style.

The two got out of the van. "Take care," Togusa said before closing his window. Well, Shizuo the air pollutant was gone after all. No more smoke. Ran waved lightly. "Bye," she responded. Said girl and her companion didn't waste time and headed to the first floor through a flight of stairs—waiting for the elevator wasn't worth it.

Room 112 was at the far end of the hallway, left side. "Wait here for a while, I'm gonna deal with him," she said to Shizuo without having eye contact. She seemed to have _lots _of questions to ask about.

Upon listening to the creak, Izaya reflexively looked towards the door. He couldn't see whoever it was yet, since there's another hallway before reaching the bedroom. Of course, it was Ran. She didn't need more than five seconds to pass that short antechamber. He smirked upon looking at her brown hair.

Izaya stood up to welcome her. "He's outside, isn't he?" the man looked at the door as if it was see-through. Ran turned her head to look at it as well. "Bringing him inside here would be suicide—hey!"

Really, if it came to her, he could never let a chance slip. When his fingers delved inside her tangled hair, it felt like home. Izaya smirked as he looked at Ran, struggling to get him off her, but at the same time having a pink tint on each of her cheeks. "Have I ever mentioned about how much I love your hair?" he teased.

She tried to yank his hand off her _head, _but his free one swiftly captured her wrists, preventing them from escape. She grunted.

"What exactly are you planning to do this time!"

"This," he smirked and easily lowered his head, captured his lips with her own.

**Shibuya is not that far from Ikebukuro, but I don't know how much time it'll take to ride from the two districts. I just wanted Ran and Izaya to get in touch with each other, so there. Don't forget to review. **


	32. House

**Disclaimer **: I do not own the series Durarara! Ran and OCs are mine.

**Author's Note **: Okay, the silly dot you read at the credit part last chapter wasn't my fault… I honestly didn't know what happened. It's supposed to be: **Eventually **(dot)** this **(dot)** will **(dot)** happen**. Thanks **Bree Renee**, **Thunderfran**, **Sky's Fire**,** Leyshla Gisel**,** Sonic Gamer**,** mi-chan**,and** SawalRockGurl**!

**Attention—I will be having who-knows-for-how-long vacation starting the 4****th**** of June. Hopefully I'm allowed to bring my laptop along. If not, well, I'm afraid I'm not gonna be able to update. I'm sorry, guys. **

Chapter 32 – House

Ran gasped when his lips pushed deeper. She didn't know what got into her when he kissed her. She could've sworn that it was supernatural, even. It was something her brain couldn't process. This kind of situation wasn't that unfamiliar to her—Izaya kissed and played with her numerous times before, and it was even a routine for him when she was hospitalized. Izaya nipped her bottom lip playfully.

Usually she would fight back for her sweet freedom from his grasp. But no, apparently this time she couldn't even move. There was a force forcing her not to move like she desperately wanted to. Shit, she _swore_ it was kind of mystical. At this period of time she could feel herself grow more sensitive to her surroundings.

She felt him move away almost reluctantly from her lips after what felt like centuries, to take a breath of course, only to move to the side of her face. He nuzzled her ear. She was obviously trying to catch her breath—she _and _he could hear herself pant—but then she was distracted by his near her ear and bit her bottom lip when he nibbled it. He somewhat sighed.

Izaya knew about the inner change of the girl he confined in his arms; he could feel it somehow. The brunette wasn't struggling like she would usually do. He rested his head beside hers, lowering only a little to close the small gap of height between them. His red-tinted eyes went half-lidded, as a part of him felt comfortable like this, but the other sociopath of him was curious about her sudden change.

He knew better than teasing her, telling her things about her not opposing him anymore. It would only snap her out of whatever she was trapped in and then she would start resisting him again. No, he wouldn't want that to happen. He wanted to be like this. He wanted them to stay like this. Well, he liked the struggling her better, since it was _her_, but he thought that staying as they were would be best.

The raven-haired man decided to test his theory—he loosened the grip on both of her wrists, his other hand reached to hug her and rested on her lower back.

Surprisingly (not very, since Izaya had his suspicions) she didn't react to any of his actions. Izaya pulled her closer to him and buried his face in her thick locks—thank whoever she let her hair down. The man smirked, imagining of the scene of Kadota waking Ran up in the middle of the night—he experienced that first. He sighed almost contentedly when he inhaled her scent.

"Izaya," her voice sounded unusually husky it sent strange vibes down his spine. He hugged her tighter and hummed incoherently as a response. She should talk like that more often.

"I'm not here to…" he quickly sensed what she was talking about and moved near her ear again.

"I know," he rasped, "you're here to confirm our next plan."

He could feel her slow nod, but instead of doing like she wanted to, he pulled her closer into the hug, both of his hands now on her back and lower. Their chests met.

"But I want to stay like this."

His statement—or plea, almost—was said in a very stable tone, but it seemed like the whisper was what added a sort-of dramatic effect on that sentence.

Then and there he wasn't playing mind-games or whatnot he used to pull to people. It was simply what he wanted; he stated what he wanted. He wanted them to stay like that and just enjoy each other for the time being.

Again, he buried his face in her hair.

Maybe it was the process of her being insane, maybe it was because of something that possessed her, but she didn't refuse to give in to him. To say that she was giving in to him would be inaccurate, but it was sort-of giving in, anyway. She suddenly didn't know how to react about his actions, while in the past she would reflexively brush him away. Ran had experienced being 'kept in place' by Izaya, which meant that the grip on her wrists were too tight. But this time was different—the feeling of resistance came only for the first few seconds and then it dispersed into the air, just like Shizuo's smoke.

Did she actually miss the feeling?

_Fuck_, her mind cursed. _What is happening to me? _

Her hand was still resting on his chest—an effect of his sudden pull. She stared blankly at, well, nothing, but she was technically looking at her hand.

"Oi?" his voice brought her back to reality. She felt him release the hug and looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.

Unexpectedly (not very, since Ran had her suspicions) Izaya began pinching her cheeks with his hands, his expression changing from a rather puzzled one into a smug smirk upon looking at her comical face.

"What the fu—" she began.

Then he suddenly grabbed the back of her head and pulled her face close to his, their foreheads touching. His smirk grew wider when he spotted her face heat up yet again, unwillingly. She was embarrassed.

With that hand he ruffled her hair, but still maintaining the touch. When the smirk vanished and his face got serious, so did hers. Izaya began to speak, "All you have to do is standby in your house with Shizuo, he should be able to kick ass. Juan, and probably Juumon, is in NMC now. I assume their making preparations on dissecting you," he eyed her furrowed eyebrows. "Tsk, overconfident assholes."

Izaya chuckled at the sharp retort. "Meanwhile I'll be investigating inside the hospital—both of them never saw me, anyway."

The man blinked. "Juumon has."

"Huh?"

"We met. I was stalking him, actually. I tested his reactions by showing him a photo of you."

"Uh-huh, like I care."

"We have cronies they've never recognize. Kadota and the gang will be here later in the morning. You'll just have to standby there."

Ran walked past him and sat on the loveseat. She looked like she was pondering. He followed her and stood behind the couch, behind her.

"Hey."

"Hm?" he responded.

"Do you have any idea why," she started, "a lot of people are willing to help me?"

Since she was deep in thought, he decided to play with her for a little bit—Izaya delicately pulled a strand of dark brown hair and started to toy with it. He chuckled. "If you mean Mikado, that boy's just bored."

She tilted her head sideways. "Bored?"

The brunette somehow didn't mind him playing with her hair—she had so much of that in the past. She started to think that not resisting somehow made it felt nice, actually. _Something's gotten in me_, she thought solemnly.

"Hmm," Izaya answered, "he resents usual daily life. He's from a small town after all."

"Ikebukuro must be some kind of wondrous for him, then," her lips curled up in amusement a little. "Hey, stop it. It's getting on my nerves." She moved her head, the strand of hair falling from his fingers. Izaya chuckled again, the sound less sociopathic somehow. "You didn't seem to mind just know."

She froze. What they did just know… how could they act like nothing happened? It should be one of the most awkward moments in her life, but—oh, right, Izaya suddenly got serious and finally talked about the plan.

"What about the others?" she paused. "Don't tell me Kadota and the others do this just for fun."

"As for Kadota and Shizuo... I think it's because they don't like the idea of changing a human."

Ran sat still, not moving for a moment, and Izaya took his chances, reaching for her hair again. "They hate changing people. That's why they want to defend you—I'm sure they think of your father as a crazy asshole." The brunette snorted.

Suddenly she stood up. Without facing him, she said, "Shizuo's waiting outside." From the curtain of brown locks, Ran looked at the clock. "We should go now."

Izaya didn't say anything else—there was nothing he should—but he looked at her back when her hand reached the door knob.

"By the way," she turned around to face him, "how should I explain to my parents about Shizuo?"

**. . . . .**

"Mom, I'm sorry for the short notice."

"Oh, I miss you! _We _missed you!"

The brunette hugged her mother back, who was old but didn't look so. The black-haired woman grinned widely at the sight of a certain blonde standing behind her daughter. "And you brought home a man, too! Oh, I'm so proud—"

Ran blinked. "Mom, he's not my boyfriend or anything."

Her mother's face dropped, expressing her disappointment with a pout. It didn't stop her from greeting Shizuo properly, though. "It's a pleasure to meet you. You're a friend of Ran's, right?"

Said woman thought that it would be more polite if she introduced the two. "Mom, this is Shizuo Heiwajima… we've been close since I arrived in Ikebukuro." She paused and gestured Shizuo—without his cigarette but still wearing those shades—towards her mom. "Shizuo, this is my mom."

They shook hands. "Hinamori Ryogo. Thank you for taking care of Ran," the elder woman introduced herself politely. Shizuo nodded as a response; his expression flat. "Shizuo Heiwajima. It's a pleasure to meet you too. I'm sorry for causing trouble." He replied formally.

Ran walked past the gate of the house—the house she always remembered. It didn't change. Well, it seemed that her mom's orchids were replaced with bonsais… maybe they died? Ran wondered as she looked at the lush green mini-trees at the sides. She shrugged it off. "Where's Kazuki anyway? And Shun?" She asked, half-turning to look at her mom.

At the mention of her two other sons, Ms. Hinamori smiled. "They woke up about five minutes ago. Probably stirring their bowls of cereals?" She added the last sentence with a friendly chuckle and gestured Shizuo to come in.

Upon arriving at the door, Ran took off her Converses and put them inside the shoe rack—a Japanese tradition to take off whatever you're wearing and replace them with home sandals. She didn't say 'I'm home' or anything. She wanted to surprise those two brothers of hers. With a small smirk she entered the living room.

It was empty, but she could hear sounds of people talking in the other room. Oh yeah, her dad was there as well. Her smirk widened unknowingly.

She stood in front of the traditional sliding door before sliding it open in a fast movement.

The 'whoosh' instantly made three men inside the room look at her.

A bleach blonde young boy gawked at the sight of the female brunette, posing victoriously after the 'grand opening' of her door—feet stamped apart, her hand still holding the handle of the door. "When—" the teen unconsciously pointed a finger at her. Ran smirked at his bewildered expression. It was Kazuki, her younger brother. Rather rebellious—the hair as a legitimate proof of that trait, Ran believed that he would be attending his first semester of college in a few months.

Yet another young man, but still older than Ran, blinked at said girl through his half lidded eyes. "Ran?" he unsurely said. The girl practically snickered—she hadn't seen that surprised face of his. Shun, her brother older by one year, wasn't rich of emotions but not that poor either. He was sarcastic—she liked that very much—especially when it came to Kazuki.

The two brothers were a perfect form of cliché—your everyday movie-like hyper little brother and a cool, skeptical older one. Supposedly the hyper part came from mother, who was like that during her youth and the cynical part came from father.

"Ran!" she heard a rattle of plates and then she was embraced tightly by her father.

She returned it willingly, hugging Ryogaki Ryogo as tight as he hugged her.

"I'm home."

**. . . . .**

_From: Dotachin~_

_ Message received 1 November 20xx – 07:24 a.m._

_ We're on board. _

_ To: Dotachin~_

_ Message sent 1 November 20xx – 07:25 a.m._

_ Great! Take care~!_

_ Oh, and head to the same hotel, you'll be staying there. Room 112, don't forget!_

**. . . . .**

__"Sensei," he called. "The cameras are ready."

Juumon nodded, inspecting the medical knives inside the silver plate, making noisy clanging sounds in the silent room.

"Don't forget to fill the stapler [1]. It wouldn't be good if something's messed up during the surgery."

"Yes, Sensei," Juan answered, busy sorting the knives.

"After we're ready here, we can pick her up."

**[1] A stapler is the medical equipment used to cut a vein **_**and **_**seal it back. Without the stapler, it can only cut and not close the vein, so… blood will pour. Just Google it!**

**Action will be coming soon, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait. **

**I'm bored. Anyone want to follow me on Twitter? I follow back. PM please! ^_^ **

**(As if there are…**)


	33. Contrasting Situations

**Disclaimer **: I do not own the series Durarara! Ran and OCs are mine.

**Author's Note **: Passed the 100-review-mark! Thanks to **Leyshla Gisel**, **Sonic Gamer**, and** redgirl18**,** Smile9316**, **Z**,** Mrs. Radke-Cifer, **and **SawalRockGurl**!

**My birthday is coming up soon. My vacation starts on 4****th****.**

Chapter 33 – Contrasting Situations

They sat in front of a koi pond in the garden of her house, playing an old pack of UNO cards. Both of them were too bored to do anything. The blonde, with a smug smirk on his handsome face, tossed a green-colored 'draw two' card. His playmate, the female brunette, narrowed her eyes and grunted at her bad luck. Who knew he kept that card for so long? Shizuo could've used it before the green '3' card she put before this. "You sly prick," she muttered. The blonde chuckled when the girl reluctantly took two more cards from the deck.

She stared at the five cards in her hand. Shizuo only had three more to go before he could say the magic word in the game. Her rather ambitious side swelled as she never lost in this game before. She must win.

Ran's anger was starting to fuel up.

When she observed the two cards she drew, she grinned mischievously at it.

At an instant, Shizuo knew that the tables might be turned.

"Take that!" she exclaimed rather childishly as she, still grinning, slapped the card onto the pile between them.

It was another different colored 'draw two'. Shizuo groaned.

**. . . . .**

"I'm home!" a familiar voice called out from the entrance door. Ran recognized it as her younger brother. She took a few steps backwards to check the hallway. The bleached blonde was crouching, trying to untie his pair of white tennis shoes. The brunette noted that he wasn't wearing Shibuya High School's uniform—it was her school as well, years ago. "You're in the tennis club now?" she questioned before taking a sip from her coffee mug.

Her younger brother looked up. "Oh, hi, Ran," he would never call her 'sis', "yeah, I joined last week."

"Remind me on this. How many times have you switched clubs?"

"You mean during this school year? Wait, I'll have to count… there's the basketball club, swimming club, archery club—"

The brunette groaned. That was Kazuki alright, always following the wind. _Wonder what happens if there's no wind at_ _all, _she wondered.

He entered the living room after replacing his shoes with home slippers. "Oh, Shizuo-san," he paused when he spotted _another _bleached blonde man sitting on the couch, reading newspaper. "You look like Dad you know, sitting like that, reading newspaper..." He commented. "…you aren't drinking coffee right now, though. But you still resemble Dad."

"Really," Shizuo nonchalantly replied.

Ran noticed that Kazuki and Shizuo got pretty close, actually. They thought they were alike. While watching the two chatting idly, the brunette sipped her own coffee and pondered about their similarities. Used to have brown hair, dyed it into blonde, Shizuo changed jobs a lot while Kazuki changed clubs a lot…

Shizuo certainly didn't want to pollute the fresh air inside the room that was connected to the back garden. Hinamori-san would probably scold him if he smoked indoors anyway; fortunately Ran told him beforehand that her mother would never tolerate smoking inside the house. He was currently multitasking—listening to Kazuki and his random rants while reading the newspaper. And he was really listened to him, not just absent-mindedly, sometimes even responding to the fellow blonde with a nod.

"Your bathe water's ready, younger brother," Ran drawled out, snickering when Kazuki gave her that dirty look. The blonde teen scowled and tried to brush off what Ran called him; he certainly didn't change at all, still hating the term 'younger brother'. Ran smiled while sipping her coffee. When she heard the sound of shutting sliding doors, the brunette approached Shizuo.

The man closed his newspaper and looked up. "Despite his appearance Kazuki is pretty lonely, you know," Ran said, meeting Shizuo's gaze. Said man took of his tinted glasses and put them inside his pocket. Ran took his silence as a sign for her to continue. "He and Shun argues sometimes, but that's it. This family is way too quiet for a guy like him," she paused. "I can make you some coffee if you want."

He shrugged, "Okay," and lazily followed her into the kitchen.

**. . . . .**

"What is this?" Shinra held up the note in his hand, his left one holding a coffee mug. Celty could hear the wail disturbing their quiet morning and paced quickly towards the living room. _"Is something wrong, Shinra?" _she typed and showed the screen to his face. The brunette male stuttered at his words when he tried to explain.

He showed the note in his hand to Celty. "Ran suddenly went off… she said that she's going to her parents' house."

_"Maybe she really _is _there."_

"B-But it feels strange, Celty! She didn't tell us the night before."

The Dullahan's fortitude started to falter. _"…maybe she forgot to?"_

"Celty!" Shinra wailed. "Ran _still _would never wake up that early to visit her parents! Knowing her, she'd probably doze off and wake up at nine or ten before taking the bullet train there." Damn, he got that right. Celty appeared like she was thinking for a minute. Shinra, who was probably still in a panic-induced stupor, looked worried.

_"Have you tried calling her?"_

"Uh… no-not yet..."

Celty folded her arms in front of her chest. Shinra's brain could be so numb at times, especially in mornings. She picked up the wireless telephone beside the TV and pressed the buttons of Ran's cell phone number before handing it to Shinra.

They waited patiently for her to pick up the phone.

_"Hello?"_

"R-Ran, this is Shinra! Where are you now!"

_"Haven't you read the note yet?"_

Shinra paused, his eyebrows wrinkling. Celty rested her back on the wall behind her, observing the phone call. "But you didn't tell us about it in advance. You didn't even pack your things!"

The voice of the female brunette on the other line sounded unsure—she secretly cursed herself for not thinking about a reason to tell Shinra. _"Uh, it was just a visit, so I thought I don't need to pack."_

His eyebrows were now cocked up in curiosity. "If it's just a visit, why did you go in such a hurry?" He eyed Celty, now fully dressed, and back at the phone. "We know you could've taken the eleven o'clock bullet train to Shibuya."

A certain brunette deadpanned. She was officially _screwed_.

_"Ran, be honest, are you hiding something from us?"_

Screwed, she was really, really screwed. "No," she lied; although she knew it was a bad one. Her voice wasn't convincing. Inwardly the girl cursed herself for being so careless. Shizuo was currently paying attention to her from the couch, sipping his coffee, while probably wondering who was on the phone.

_"Ran~"_

"Okay, okay, fine! Dammit," she winced.

_"Where are you now?"_

"At my parents' house," she answered.

She could hear the grunt coming from Shinra. _"I thought you're willing to tell the truth?"_

"It is the truth!" At this point Ran began pacing around the room, Shizuo's eyes never leaving her as he watched in a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

_"…and why did you go there?"_

"There's this plan, okay? I don't know the details but Izaya asked me to 'standby here before his next orders'," She said the last part in a mocking tone. The blonde resting on the couch chuckled.

_"Where is Izaya now?"_

"He was in Shibuya at about three in the morning, but who the heck knows where he is now."

A sigh could be heard. _"Okay." _The phone call ended.

"Who is it?" Shizuo asked as Ran stopped pacing and took a seat beside him. "Shinra," the girl paused, closing her eyes. "Either that guy's sharp or I'm just careless. It was Kadota's fault I couldn't cover the plan anyway." There was another shorter pause, in which Shizuo was still watching her. "Hell, I didn't even know about the plan until this morning!"

The blonde didn't respond to that; he had nothing to say. Again, he sipped his coffee.

**. . . . .**

"It is very enlightening of you to have all this prepared," Juumon mused.

The two of them were inside a room in Narita Medical Center. It was dark, because of the purposely turned off lights that might affect the condition of the things inside the room, and had the typical sterile smell of hospitals. They were walking down a hallway, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Various test tubes and containers were lined neatly row by row on the shelves to their left and right. Apparently the elder man's student prepared it a few days ago, just before he set off to Shibuya.

Juumon stopped in his tracks and shifted the torchlight towards his left, shining over a few glass tubes with eerie filament-like objects floating inside it. "I still don't believe they didn't dispose these," he said in his low voice, before adjusting his lab coat and moving on. "They didn't dare to do so," Juan politely retorted. "It was a part of the essential equipment needed for the completion of your research back then, Sensei."

"The study of human genetics years ago failed, in my eyes."

"Even so, the hospital board did not have the heart to dispose the volunteers' genes you extracted." Juan stopped to examine a similar glass tube to his left. The label upon it said: _Izuru Mochizuki _[1]. "A lot of people supported you, Sensei."

Both of them kept walking along the hallway that never seemed to end. "I have to admit it was nice of them, but when I failed most of them stopped supporting me." He paused, but his feet didn't stop stepping ahead. "How do you manage to keep these in good quality? More than twenty years passed since then," Juumon asked again.

Juan's tone was unwavering since they first talked. "We applied an advanced cooling technology."

The seemingly endless walk along the hallway stopped when the elder surgeon saw a locked door. Juan stepped forward and, almost robotically, pushed the numbers on the panel beside the iron door that opened soon after with a whizzing sound—probably caused by the different air pressure inside the new room they were entering.

"The extracted genes stored here are older than the ones you saw before," Juan's voice echoed slightly in the room. The lights were bright, somewhat blinding that it caused said man's teacher to blink and let his eyes get used to their new environment. Test tubes were placed careful and neatly on the tables, while there was another that has just enough room to place significant cleaning utensils. Glass containers were stacked in shelves like the ones they saw in the hallway, but they look rustier. These were the original extracted genes from Juumon's experiment twenty two years ago, when Ran was born.

**. . . . .**

___From: Asshole_

_ Message received: November 2__nd__, 20xx – 15:35 _

_ Ran-chan~ I got a message from Kadota that he's currently staying at the hotel now._

_ Anyway, your beloved father and his student have been spotted entering NMC about an hour ago. Just don't go there and kick their asses alone, because you are what they want._

_P.S. Don't miss me, okay? :*_

_ To: Asshole_

_ Message sent: November 2__nd__, 20xx – 15:36_

_ I'm not that stupid._

_P.S. Go fuck yourself._

Izaya snickered when he got the message from Ran—she was still so good in picking her vocabulary. The informant spun on his chair in his Shinjuku office alone, since Namie was currently out to shop some groceries. A good thing Kadota and Togusa spotted Double J entering the damned hospital. The raven-haired man made his way back to Shinjuku not long after Ran and Shizu-chan made theirs to her parents' house.

He needed to finish a few things before making his way back to Shibuya for the real action.

_To: Mikado Ryuugamine_

_ Message sent: 2 November 20xx – 03:40 p.m._

_ The battlefield is not Ikebukuro; it is in Shibuya. When is your winter vacation going to start? ;)_

**. . . . . **

Juumon was busy examining one of the containers, while Juan sat on a vacant leather chair, letting his teacher do whatever he desired. The silence consumed the room, nothing but a little clatter sounded when the elder surgeon put the container back down, only to lift and examine another. There was nothing either of them wanted to say, but suddenly Juumon had a revelation.

It came out as a murmur, but due to the stillness, Juan could hear him clearly.

"About a week ago was her birthday."

A/N:

Long time no update. I hope you like it.


	34. Run

**Disclaimer **: I do not own the series Durarara! Ran and OCs are mine.

**Author's Note **: On vacation! Thanks to **Yachiru Hatake**,** Leyshla Gisel**,**Shiawase Lover **and **SawalRockGurl**.

Chapter 34 – Run

The two men entered room number 112, specially booked under the name Miki Kira, or whoever it was. Approximately ten minutes ago they were stuck in the front table, arguing with the receptionist whether there was or there was _not _a room booked under the name Orihara Izaya. Kadota didn't join in the heated but at the same time awkward conversation—Togusa was the one that spoke a lot.

After a one-minute long phone call with the sneaky informant, Kadota calmly asked the receptionist if there was a room book under the name Miki Kira.

He found out that apparently Izaya was either paranoid or just fond of aliases.

"Sure is fancy," Togusa commented upon sight of the pastel colored room. Kadota shrugged at the remark, "There are plenty of hotels better than these, you know." He said. Togusa ignored the other man and plopped himself on the fluffy bed that bounced back a little. "Ah, I need a break!" He said, closing his eyes, unaware of Kadota taking off his beanie and sitting down at the other bed.

Finally he sat up and faced Kadota. "So when are Erika and Walker gonna get here?"

Kadota dug his hand into his pocket and pulled his cell phone out. Pushing a few buttons, he said, "They're on the bullet train now. Services are open."

"Question is where are they gonna stay?"

"I'm going to call the front table and book another room…"

"Fine by me," Togusa responded, but then continued, "as long as Orihara is the one paying."

Kadota chuckled. "I have to agree with you."

**. . . . . **

Sure, you all must've known that Ran wasn't one to sit idle by and watch things go along without her included. It's not like she's an attention-loving girl, she just didn't like to be the 'protected' one. Everyone would fight for her sake, and they weren't the 'childhood friends' type of people. Some of them—three of them—were more like strangers to her, although with her current psychology study she could've easily analyzed their personalities one by one.

But to think that she was the one they're fighting for… and she couldn't be of much help…

It was pissing her mind off, somehow. She didn't know _how _exactly, but not like she cared. The feeling was pissing her off, period. Of course she wasn't that stupid, wanting to directly confront Juumon and Juan—in Izaya's text, kicking their freaking asses. She just didn't want to hide from them. Heck, she wasn't afraid of them, since the Black Hole disbanded. Even if they're just a bunch of stupid people it was still going to be a pain in the neck to deal with them. She deserved a break… maybe a walk could be nice.

"Screw this, I'm going out."

Ms. Hinamori's head snapped to look at her adopted daughter. "Watch your words, young lady." Her stern yet motherly voice could be heard, followed by Ran's mumble of 'sorry'. "And where are you going?" The elder woman asked again, a hand on her hip and another holding a broom.

Ran shrugged. "Just… breathing the air, I guess." She answered. Hinamori shook her head and sighed. "Shibuya air is no good—cars and motorcycles everywhere are polluting this area." She stopped talking and looked at Ran. The girl was staring blankly at, well, nothing.

Her mother instincts could never be wrong. "Is something bothering you, dear?"

"Oh, no," of course it was a lie, Hinamori noticed. "I'm just thinking."

"When do you stop doing that?" Her mother jokingly said. "Well, you can go, anyway. Be careful. Don't talk to strangers."

At the last sentence Ran blinked. "Mom, I'm twenty two. You don't need to tell me that," grabbing her orange jacket lying on the couch, she made her way out. "Bye, Mom," she said.

The door closed slowly as Hinamori stared at it. There was absolutely something wrong with the brunette, but she couldn't tell. Hinamori suddenly felt something was off, along with a bad feeling—an unexplainable bad feeling. She dashed to the garden, the broom neglected, knowing Shizuo was there.

"Shizuo-kun," upon hearing the worrisome voice, the blonde turned around to meet Ms. Hinamori's face. "Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing the short breaths coming from the woman. "This is hard to explain, but," she paused to take a breath, "Ran just went out for a walk and… apparently I get this bad feeling…" She wandered off. "Is something wrong with her? Did you know?"

His bodyguard senses were heightened. "I'll go with her," the man steadily said and quickly paced to the exit door after he received a supporting nod from Hinamori.

"Please take care. Both of you," she said, his back facing her. The elder woman could see him nod.

**. . . . .**

"Good heavens!" Walker cried, but surprisingly, without attracting attention. The mall was full with busy and bustling people, being one of the most visited otaku shopping mall in Shibuya. Erika wasn't any better than her partner, drooling after rare, uh, items.

Amongst the busy background of people, Walker didn't notice the incoming call on his phone.

Kadota clicked his tongue, annoyed, when his comrade didn't answer the phone. Togusa watched silently as he sat on the bed. When Kadota put his phone down, it was then Togusa asked. "They didn't answer?" The beanie-wearing man simply nodded, still irritated by Walker and Erika's dilly-dallying. Togusa only shrugged. "They probably found a nice place to hang-out, we expected this before," he lightly said.

"Yeah, but it's still annoying." Kadota replied. "Plan B then?" Togusa asked again, standing up.

All he got was a small nod, and they were off.

**. . . . .**

The last time she went out for a walk was the first time she got kidnapped. Ran sighed exasperatedly at the memory. The feeling was still bugging her like a ketchup stain on a white shirt—hard to erase, even during times alone. It actually grew stronger during times alone. The people supporting her couldn't be thanked enough.

_"I think it's because they don't like the idea of changing a human."_

The words—Izaya's words—were echoing in her mind the whole time. True, anyone normal could resent the fact of changing a human being from its original state, but none of them would've stepped this far. It made her feel warm and protected, but at the same time useless. She wasn't one to enjoy the feeling of being sheltered. She should be able to shelter herself.

Ran had been walking for a few hours now, not caught up by the crowd in front of stores by the street. She knew Shibuya quite well; it was her hometown after all. About a few blocks from the street she was at, there was a small park that she used to visit during childhood. Ran passed the park a few times when she was in high school and noted that nothing changed for the past years.

_Don't tell me that I'm actually missing the park._

The park wasn't in the middle of the busy business part of Shibuya—it would be really weird. In fact, it was located amongst modest houses like hers, and it was never crowded, especially in the afternoon or evening. She remembered that she used to play or just sit on the bench there, but her visiting frequency increased after her parents told her about her real past… how old was she, six or seven? She particularly couldn't remind herself about how her parents explained to her about it; hey, she was intelligent.

She never changed, ironically, Juan thought as he followed his target among the crowd. The orange jacket she was wearing helped him not to lose sight of her; it was quite eye-catching. The last time she took a walk was the time he successfully kidnapped her, and now she was practically taking the bait. At times when she was full of thought, she would go out to take a walk. _Weird habit_, Juan couldn't help but comment mentally while he adjusted his glasses. Shibuya's busy people were rather similar to Ikebukuro's, which made his job rather easy. Ran maybe didn't like crowded places, as he observed her walking away to another part of town. He kept his distance far, but just enough to spot her.

"She's heading towards you, Sensei," said Juan to the com.

A snort could be heard. _"Is she that easy to read?" _a rough voice responded.

"Frankly," Juan murmured.

_"Get ready."_

"I am."

There were a few seconds of silence before Juumon finally said again. _"Don't fail this time."_

**. . . . .**

"Togusa, control yourself." Kadota calmly ordered while the other man went rampant on the steering wheel. "I'm calling Izaya. This is an emergency," in a swift movement he pressed the speed dial and attempted to get a hold of said informant. "Just don't lose track of them."

It happened quite quickly that not anyone could comprehend—Kadota and Togusa knew very well about what was happening, though.

**Ten minutes ago**

"Could they be at Shin Otaku Center [1]?" Togusa wondered, steering his beloved van slowly across the street. Kadota was observing people, in case the ones they were looking for were among the crowd—Erika and Walker. "They're not here," Kadota announced, as he was very familiar to Erika and Walker's visage.

Togusa grunted. "Guess not here, then," he turned to the main road at their left. "Where should we go next?" He said, glancing to his right. Kadota sighed. "I guess they're somewhere inside one of the malls," he answered, "You think we should take a short tour around town?" Kadota suggested, looking out the window while still looking for the other two. Kadota nodded at that and Togusa began to take the minor, narrower street.

His driver instincts automatically memorized the houses and scenery around him, in case they needed to pass this road again. Kadota looked around—they were rather far from the business-part of town, now entering a row of modestly built two-storey houses.

That was, until Kadota spotted something ahead.

Someone was violently shoved into a car, and they could've sworn that it was someone they knew. That brown hair and orange jacket...

"Togusa, turn right!" Kadota then cursed lowly under his breath.

"I know!" He gritted his teeth and stepped on the gas, hard.

**. . . . .**

**Present Time**

Juan closed the door of the car, with Juumon waiting on the driver's seat. "She's like a donkey, falling into the same trap twice," Juumon murmured while starting the engine. "We could literally fix that later," his apprentice commented.

"We will. Let's go." Juumon responded.

Warily, the apprentice observed through the rear-view mirror. "Someone's approaching," he alerted the elder surgeon, "they're fast."

The old man sitting on the driver's seat adjusted the hand-brake before stepping on the gas, the car gliding along the empty road. "Did you put enough sleeping liquor on that cloth? She could wake up any time now," he asked. Juan was still observing the van approaching them from behind. "It should last for an hour, more or less," bespectacled eyes narrowed, "that's a hell of a driver behind us. What if they managed to catch up?"

"We have another route."

Juan sighed. "At least the street-sign-thrower-guy is gone."

"You were lucky you're squirrelly."

"Izaya," Kadota rasped on the phone, "Ran's been kidnapped. We're following suit." The man was obviously trying to keep his cool, but his eyes still showed rage. "What's Ran doing outside anyway?" he almost yelled, trying to match the roar of the engine.

"_That feisty girl," _somehow Kadota could hear the smirk in Izaya's voice. _"NMC has a back entrance, it's quite far from the original entrance because the hospital itself is quite wide." _He paused. _"Please tell me you know the way there?" _

"We brought the town map you gave us earlier," Kadota easily flipped a book open. "Should we not follow their car?"

"_No," _Izaya replied quite simply, _"it's obvious that they'll conduct the operation at NMC. You just have to arrive there before them."_

"Anyway, where are you now?"

"_Where am I?" _Kadota could hear another female voice in the background. _"Shibuya, please mind the gap." _Then Izaya chuckled. _"I just got off the bullet train."_

"We'll contact you later." Kadota turned off his cell phone, comprehending Izaya's full order. "We should get to NMC before them. There's a back entrance—I'll guide you there." Togusa nodded and the van seemed to speed up a little.

_Time to inform Shizu-chan, _Izaya thought as he passed the automatic sliding doors of the train, _they're faster than I expected. _And besides, why would Ran refuse to comply? Where was she going to, exactly? _Humans, _the informant mused. He opened his cell phone while pacing through the rather empty station, sending a text to someone before calling another.

"Oh," Hinamori gasped as a cell phone on a dining table was vibrating. "A phone call—Shizuo-kun's cell phone?" She picked it up, resting the broom on her other arm. The incoming call was from a private number.

"Hello?"

"_Ah, Hinamori-san is it. I assume Shizu-chan's out?" _It was definitely a male voice, but… calling Shizuo-kun as 'Shizu-chan'? It didn't suit him.

"Y-Yes, this is Hinamori. Shizuo-kun just went out a few moments ago—"

"_Then I apologize for disturbing you. Thank you, Hinamori-san."_

The phone went off—Hinamori stared at it.

How in the world that the caller knew that her name was Hinamori?

**. . . . .**

Shizuo bit his cigarette angrily. "Kadota, someone's got—"

"_We know. We're on their track."_

The cigarette between his lips fell down promptly. "How did you find out?"

"_How did _you_ find out?"_

"Saw him muffling her mouth with a cloth—it's really crowded that time. I threw a street sign." He said as if it was nothing. "Where are you guys?"

"_Behind them, we're finding a shortcut. You grab a cab and go to NMC, they're definitely gonna be there."_

"Roger."

He closed the flip cell phone.

_To: Mikado Ryuugamine_

_ Message sent: 2 November 20xx – 03:40 p.m._

_ The battlefield is not Ikebukuro; it is in Shibuya. When is your winter vacation going to start? ;)_

_From: Mikado Ryuugamine_

_Message sent: 2 November 20xx – 03:45 p.m._

_Tomorrow._

_To: Mikado Ryuugamine _

_Message sent: 4 November 20xx – 16:21_

_Shibuya Hotel, room 112, booked under the name Miki Kira. Think there might be Dollars in Shibuya? I'll text you more about the situation._

_From: Mikado Ryuugamine_

_Message sent: 4 November 20xx – 16:23_

_O.K. I'll try to find out._

**[1] A fictional place, some sort of mall for otakus.**

**Wow, sorry for the super long update. I hope I don't disappoint any of you guys… **

**Action felt kind of rushed here. I just had no idea how to portray Ran being kidnapped.**

**I think I'll find a way to fix that in the next chapter.**

**I'm terribly sorry for everything, really. **


	35. Band Bang

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Durarara! Ran and the other OCs are mine.

**Author's Note **: **Leyshla Gisel**, **Z**, **SawalRockGurl**,** kiari-namiro**,** OneHellOvaWriter**,** FallenWing21**,** TragicAtBest13**,and thanks for doing anything you did. Enjoy chapter 35.

**I feel like I need more reviews... seriously, I'm feeling rather upset :(**

**Maybe it's just another mood swing... AHH! JUST IGNORE ME!**

**Thank you for the wait! I just got back from my vacation, had a horrible writer's block. Hope you like this one!**

Chapter 35 – Band Bang

_To: Mikado Ryuugamine_

_Message sent: 2 November 20xx – 03:40 p.m._

_The battlefield is not Ikebukuro; it is in Shibuya. When is your winter vacation going to start? ;)_

_From: Mikado Ryuugamine_

_Message sent: 2 November 20xx – 03:45 p.m._

_Tomorrow._

_To: Mikado Ryuugamine_

_Message sent: 4 November 20xx – 16:21_

_Shibuya Hotel, room 112, booked under the name Miki Kira. Think there might be Dollars in Shibuya? I'll text you more about the situation._

_From: Mikado Ryuugamine_

_Message sent: 4 November 20xx – 16:23_

_O.K. I'll try to find out._

Mikado tapped his finger as he waited for a certain page to load on his cell, something he often did after the teen learned about internet. It opens the world faster than books, but like the world itself, it also has a dark side. He acknowledged that Black Hole's cleverly disguised website closed itself some time before. Now it's time for Dollars' action.

Successfully entering the board, he typed swiftly on the keypad.

_Posted by admin, 4th November 20xx at 17:30_

_Is anyone here staying in Shibuya? Need help._

__A few seconds after the text was posted, his phone vibrated and there were letters on the screen, informing that he received a new message.

"Who is it from?" Kida Masaomi gingerly asked, probably feeling perturbed or just awkward that he had to work with Izaya Orihara again—their last cooperation didn't turn out well. "Why won't this train go faster," Mikado could hear his companion mumble. The bullet train was rather quiet, only a few passengers were aboard. Anri sat silently to the left of Mikado, observing the dialogue between the blonde and the ravenette.

He clicked his inbox open, and there he spotted Izaya Orihara's text message.

_[Ran's been kidnapped. As soon as you arrive, go straight to NMC's back entrance.]_

Apparently it was a wise decision to directly take the bullet train after the school day ended. Mikado felt like he needed to rush, knowing that both the adversary and the target were currently residing at the same place. It still didn't stop the surprise from assaulting Mikado. "Ran-san's been kidnapped," he announced it with his voice hushed, afraid that the other passengers might overhear—it would be way more complicated.

Kida's eyes widened right after it blinked, and so as Anri's bespectacled ones. "Already?" the blonde's voice seemed to raise a notch. Mikado gave him a signal to calm down and checked his wristwatch. "We should be arriving quite soon. Masaomi-kun, do you have a GPS application on your phone?"

Still on Dollars' board, Mikado typed once again.

_Posted by admin, 4th November 20xx at 17:30_

_We need immediate help. Anyone currently in Shibuya, please inform us!_

**. . . . .**

"_Dotachin, I need you to give me their number and your current location._"

"CM24014, and," the sound of folded papers being opened, "we're right now at…"

_"Be quick~" _

"Omotesando [1], heading towards Gaienmae [2]!" Kadota's voice tried to match the roar of Togusa's engine.

_"Keep an eye on the map, NMC's near. Ask Togusa to fake a loss."_

Beep. The phone call ended.

Juan heard an overly loud screech, and his eyes that were once focused on his silver watch averted towards the rear-view mirror. "They're gone?" he suspiciously narrowed his eyes at the sight of nobody behind their car. Juumon's eyes glanced to the mirror as well. "Let's not dwell on that," the older surgeon said. Juan looked at him, "They lost us?" he question.

The man, already clad in white, looked at him. "As I said, let's not dwell on that."

He focused back on the road, while the younger man wondered if it was right _not _to dwell on it.

**. . . . .**

_"Shibuya, please mind the gap." _The sentence was said twice, robotically—figures—but none of the golden trio cared about it. As soon as the automated sliding doors opened, they paced passed them, the aforementioned gap seemingly forgotten. The situation was way too critical, almost to the point that they might forget their own safety.

Why did they want to fight for her so badly? They barely know her. Kida and Anri had only met her once in their lives. Were they so bored they just agreed to help? Neither the blonde nor the girl was that type of person, not to mention Mikado. The boy could be from a small town and a newcomer in this big city of Tokyo, but he surely would have the heart to help, not just out of boredom, right?

…right?

Okay, this will be elaborated later.

Said ravenette checked his phone for posts on Dollars' board. There were plenty of posts stating that they are currently in Shibuya. He typed yet again on his phone.

_Posted by admin, 4__th__ November 20xx at 17:30_

_Someone has been kidnapped. She has brown hair, green eyes, orange jacket. The kidnapper's destination is NMC. It will be best to enter from the back._

_-Posted by QAQ in reply to admin_

_-Yeah, time for some action! Do I need to bring a weapon or something? :D _

_-Posted by Dara22 in reply to admin _

-_Okay! Someone's is in serious trouble! _

_-Posted by Reston in reply to admin_

_-Glad I can be helpful~ _

**. . . . . **

Izaya Orihara flipped his phone close that ended the conversation with Dotachin with a smirk, and continued to sit inside the cab he was in. The smirk dropped as he analyzed the situation, his face forming a serious expression. Of course he predicted that the operation would most likely be conducted at NMC—it was really easy to guess, even for a child.

"When are we going to arrive?" He questioned the taxi driver; tone of voice sounded like it was a whine. A bit baffled, the middle-aged man told him with a small stutter that they will be there in a few minutes, afraid that anymore waiting would anger the odd passenger of his.

A bit concerned (more like curious) of what would happen next, Izaya glanced through the mirror, finding the driver's eyes that were focused on the road. He then readjusted his single-piece earphone and pressed some buttons on his phone.

On the wide flat-screen were visuals of the insides of a familiar building in different places, providing a nice but odd angle. Izaya smiled to himself. His affiliation with the Awakusu Group apparently had its positive sides—well, to Izaya, almost ninety-percent positive. He gets the money; he gets to trade information for… things like these.

Similar to the gum that only records audio, this other gadget only Awakusu can lay hands on were able to provide visuals _and _sounds. The informant couldn't deny the fact that the micro-hidden cameras were pricey, though. When he first saw the package, it was like looking at a cell phone. The text on the box was quite the advice:"_Available in 90 different shades of color. Tips: Choose the same color as the wall you're going to stick this at."_

Silly, Izaya had thought. Of course that goes without saying. Shiki-san's quite the troll when it comes to his products [3].

When did he get the time to stick those camera babies inside that building? What building was it—you would certainly know, if you really are following this story.

A series of snickers from the sneaky informant ended the train of my narration as he continued to watch the visuals while waiting for his arrival.

**. . . . .**

"It should be around here, Togusa," Kadota announced, eyes shifting from the map to the road. Togusa drove the van rather slowly around the block, he himself searching for the back entrance to NMC. As they gradually moved forward, the beanie-wearing man spotted an area blocked by iron fences.

He pointed. "That should be it." Togusa nodded in agreement, but later asked, "How do we get in there?"

Right after the question was said, the iron railing began to move a little bit, creating an opening. Togusa's eyes widened. "D-Did we get spotted or something, huh, Kadota?" he shout-whispered. The mentioned man remained stoic, observing the railing intensely. "Turn off the engine," he ordered mutedly. Too confused to comprehend anything, the other man did as Kadota said.

The absence of the engine's holler made the two hear nothing but silence.

**. . . . .**

A rider's jacket-wearing person suddenly stood up.

"Celty?"

The brunette medic's call didn't get a reply.

"Oi, Celty? Are you listening?"

The female Dullahan typed quickly, almost irritated.

_"You know I am." _She paced across the room, grabbing her helmet before wearing it.

Shinra trailed behind her. "What—Wait, are you mad at me?"

He received a short response. _"No." _Somehow it was unconvincing.

"T-Then why do you seem so angry?"

_"I'm tired of sitting around."_

"Where are you going?"

Celty pressed some buttons on her jet black PDA before showing a message to the male:

_Sender: Orihara Izaya_

_Message received on 4 November 20xx at 05:30 p.m._

_Ran's been kidnapped. Shibuya – Narita Medical Center – back entrance. _

_Use a GPS. Sorry for the late notification :)_

Shinra gaped. "RAN!"

He didn't receive a reply this time. All he got was the slam of the apartment door and the time alone to ponder about what was happening.

"K-K-Kidnapped?" he muttered.

**. . . . .**

The taxi stand was crowded at this time of day, especially in Shibuya's business district. Shizuo had lost his patience long ago and would prefer going to NMC by foot and smash all the fucking things there with pleasure, but there was one thing that stopped him.

He didn't know how to get there.

"Dammit!" He cursed out loud, making a few people around him jump. Adjusting his shades up the bridge of his nose, Shizuo thought that waiting for a taxi should be wiser than strolling around town, clueless… the people in this business district also preferred to mind their own business; in other words _not to give a fuck. _He learned about it.

Looking at the tall clock at his left, he also learned that he only waited for about ten minutes.

_Ten goddamn minutes that felt like ten days._

And he ran out of cigarette.

Fuck the world.

"Shizuo-san? I-Is it really you?"

At the timid voice that came from behind him, he turned around, only to meet the eyes of an equally timid boy with two other people—he recognized the three of them, especially the girl. "You… Ryuugamine Mikado was it?" he said in his usual low voice. The boy seemed enthralled that the blonde remembered his full name. "Yes, Shizuo-san," he paused, gulping, "Don't tell me that you're here for…"

"Unfortunately, yes." He cut Mikado off before the boy could say more. Shizuo took of his shades and said no more. The trio began to position themselves beside and behind the blonde bartender-clad.

Mikado awkwardly broke the silence. "…you don't know the way to NMC too?"

"No."

"Ah, there's an empty taxi!" Mikado dashed to give a signal.

**. . . . .**

Juan winced under his breath. "A traffic jam at times like these," his complain sounded like a growl, "she could wake up anytime now."

The route they took—access via Narita Medical Center's front entrance—necessitate them to take the road back to another business area, no doubt crowded at this time of day.

Just like that, they drove past a certain taxi stand, ignoring the sight of two blondes and two black-haired youngsters getting into a cab that stopped in front of them.

"When are we going to arrive, at this rate, Sensei?"

"Who knows, Shibuya traffic is unpredictable."

"How many minutes, at least?"

"Thirty."

A very, very soft sigh caught Juumon's ear.

"Patience, Juan."

His apprentice nodded. A few seconds later he blinked in realization and dug for his cell phone in his pocket.

"What are you doing?"

Beeps could be heard from the touch-screen smartphone. "Checking Dollars," he replied, typing in the password into the blank column.

"I thought it was password protected?" his teacher asked.

Juan smirked. "I hacked it a long time ago. How could you forget, Sensei?"

"And I thought it required a login?"

"It had been taken care of."

"By whom?"

"By me." His smirked widened as the login as STITCH was successful.

His proud and smug facial expression immediately dropped as he saw the board.

_Posted by admin, 4th November 20xx at 17:30_

_Is anyone here staying in Shibuya? Need help._

_Posted by admin, 4__th__ November 20xx at 17:30_

_Someone has been kidnapped. She has brown hair, green eyes, orange jacket. The kidnapper's destination is NMC. It will be best to enter from the back._

_-Posted by QAQ in reply to admin_

_-Yeah, time for some action! Do I need to bring a weapon or something? :D _

_-Posted by Dara22 in reply to admin _

-_Okay! Someone's is in serious trouble! _

_-Posted by Reston in reply to admin_

_-Glad I can be helpful~ _

His hands trembled a little.

"Juan? Is something wrong?" Juumon's voice wasn't latched with concern; it was filled with curiosity instead.

"Sensei," the younger man replied, "We have a new target."

**Clichéd ending!**

**[1], [2] : Names of places in Shibuya. Google Earth. *sheepish smile***

**[3] : You all know Shiki, right? Shinra mentioned his name in the anime. Of course he doesn't look like a troll, but for the sake of the story…**

**I'm feeling rather hyperactive while writing this chapter, PLEASE excuse the bad jokes or anything that don't usually happen in crime/mystery/action movies. I just had to **_**unleash **_**that. I really am sorry… *bows in shame***


	36. Modern Imps

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Durarara! Ran and the other OCs are mine.

**Author's Note **: Thanks to **FallenWing21**,** Anonymous**,** Leyshla Gisel**,** SawalRockGurl**,** Rayvenwolf**, and** Z**!

**First off, I'****m really sorry for making you guys wait. I got this horrible writer's block, and I just can't seem to figure out what to write. I feel guilty, and I really am sorry.**

Chapter 36 – Modern Imps

"A new target? What do you mean by that?" Juumon let go of the steering wheel. Their car didn't move an inch for five minutes since the traffic was really bad. The elder felt slightly guilty for choosing such a busy route, especially at this time of day… _There's no point in regretting one's choice when it's too late_, he mentally told himself and decided to keep his patience until they could get out of the horrible jam.

His apprentice, Juan, decided to show the smartphone screen rather than waste time in explaining the whole situation. He didn't feel like it, anyway. The young man made sure the posts by _admin _and a load of other members were the one visible on the screen. Juumon went wide eyed, as he predicted. "It appears that she has friends," the senior surgeon muttered in a low voice.

Juan seemed like he was thinking about what to do with these interfering, meddlesome Dollars' members, but at the same time it looked like he was unable to think about a plan. Stuck in a middle of a rutty traffic in Shibuya, while they still have a rather long way to go, and the anesthetic sleeping liquid [1] he put on Ran might be wearing out soon… maybe it was a situation in which he himself couldn't think properly.

It was going to be a long day for them, indeed.

**. . . . .**

Well, there seemed to be another couple of people that also happened to be stuck in a different rut.

Togusa grunted, tapping his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. His beloved van's engine wasn't on, on the contrary. They've been waiting for the back-entrance guard to just leave his post and let them in! Well, Togusa prayed for that over and over, trying to hold in his annoyance (although it was completely visible on his face), while his partner Kadota tried to think of a way to bust in.

That didn't mean he was completely fine with waiting, either.

"Screw this," he mumbled tiredly, "I'm calling Izaya."

Togusa gawked, "You should've done that from—like, what—twenty minutes ago!"

Kadota coolly replied while searching for the man's name on his list of contacts. "To be honest, Togusa, I don't really want to rely on that person." He clicked the 'call' button after finding _that person_'s name. "He really seems to be the type that does things for his fun." Kadota put his phone beside his left ear.

The cab stopped after Izaya told him to. Said man paid the fare and walked lightheartedly towards the quiet, rather unoccupied block, as if nothing major was happening at the moment.

Everything was so hushed that he could only hear the buzz of silence. Oh, and crickets. Oh, and was that his phone vibrating? Silent mode just came in handy at times. Those mischievous red eyes caught the sight of a brown van, the color very similar to its owner's hair. He snickered quietly after looking at the caller's name: Dotachin. Resuming those jocular steps of his foot, he made his way quietly to the van.

"Hello?" his cheery voice answered the phone, along with a smirk adorning his face.

"Izaya," Kadota responded in a serious voice, completely different compared to Izaya's, "we have a situation." Togusa had his ear near the phone, trying to hear what they were talking about.

_"And that is…?"_

"The back entrance is apparently being guarded tightly, and we can't seem to find a way to get in there."

_"So I see. It appears that I know a way to get in, though…" _The informant trailed off.

Both Kadota and Togusa felt something on the van that made it move—it was like the extra weight you felt when a friend climbed up to the car and sat down—the van seemed to move, but in a different way. The two of them peeked through the rear-view mirror, since it was impossible for a stranger to climb inside the van with doors locked, no matter how weird the people of Ikebukuro could be. They saw a figure leaning at the back of their van.

At an instant they knew who it was.

"Quit joking around," Kadota scowled to the phone. The call was off though.

Before he knew it, Izaya was already by his window.  
>"Yo~" the man offered an impish smile of his own and saluted. Kadota sighed, he himself unsure if it came from the relief of not having to wait much longer or the annoyance of Izaya's carefree attitude. "Just shoot," the beanie-wearing man ordered after rolling the window down, "what is this 'way of getting in' you told us about?"<p>

Izaya rested his right arm on the now open window, while Kadota intensely paid attention to what the ravenette had to say. "You see, I found out that there are rumors about Juan inside NMC," he tapped his fingers on the pane before continuing. "People are talking about the human experiments he's been conducting. After all, even subsequent to Yagiri Pharmaceutical's fall, they are still sheltering under Nebula Inc.," he smirked.

"How did you figure out all this?" Kadota narrowed his eyes, both suspicious and curious.

The informant shrugged. "I paid a visit to NMC, forgot when. The doctors were really blabber-mouthed." His smirk widened. "But that's quite an advantage."

Kadota didn't say anything in response. His silence was a signal for Izaya to continue.

"So the plan is, you're going to act as a lower-class punk who's working for Juan to get the bodies for his experiment~" Izaya said the sentence with ease and a sing-song tone.

Kadota and Togusa were speechless. The former blinked. "Well," he sighed, "there seems to be no other way."

"Ah, right, what about you, Izaya-san?"

"I'm going to act as one of Juan's lower-class cronies as well, if you don't mind me joining you~" he smiled playfully. "Now open the back door. How am I supposed to go in when it's locked?"

**. . . . .**

**10 minutes ago**

Mikado sat quietly inside the taxi, wondering if there were any alternative routes or if the traffic could get worse than this. At his right, Anri looked as nonchalant as ever, while at his left Kida Masaomi was impatiently thinking about this stuck-in-the-rut situation.

His phone beeped twice and vibrated—a text message. Realizing that it could be from someone important, Mikado quickly grabbed his phone inside his jeans' pocket and read the text written on the screen.

_You have 1 unread message_.

Click.

Of course, it was from Orihara Izaya, as the high school boy had expected.

_From: Izaya Orihara_

_Message received: November 4__th__, 20xx – 17:51 _

_I researched the traffic police department via net. Check out if a vehicle numbered CM24014 is around; registered under the name Juumon Sumimura. Traffic should be inconvenient at this time of day, so ask your taxi driver if he can take the Gaienmae route. Notify me if you're close._

Funny, it was the first text from him that actually sounded serious, for once. Kida and Anri were already looking at the screen of his phone, curious. "CM24014," the dyed-blonde boy mumbled before looking outside the window, mumbling the number over and over under his breath. The taxi was silent enough for everyone to hear it, though.

"What is that?" Shizuo turned to look at the three teens at the back, he himself confined by a seatbelt in the front passenger seat. Mikado blinked and stuttered nervously. "A-ah, it's just a text from Orihara-san," he passed his phone to Shizuo. "Oh, right, can you take the Gaienmae route instead, Sir? It appears that it has less traffic…" Mikado continued, addressing the driver politely.

The man, appearing like a fifty-year-old, nodded. "Right, but are you sure about it? It's pretty far. You might need to pay more," he answered. Mikado replied that it was fine, at least they were going somewhere instead of getting trapped in traffic. The yellow cab began to turn to the left.

"CM24014… CM24014—wait, there it is!" Shizuo pointed towards the vehicle that was in front of them earlier. The taxi driver seemed confused about what the blonde was talking about, nevertheless he kept driving.

Kida joined in. "That means that car's were Ryogo-san is!"

Mikado blinked a few times, trying to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him. No matter how many times he blinked, it was still CM24014. It was Juumon Sumimura's car—Juumon Sumimura's car with Ran inside, and possibly Juan, too. He dawned into realization.

"It should be fine. They're trapped in traffic, right?" Mikado typed on his phone again, notifying Izaya that they've spotted Juumon.

[_It occurs that Juumon's car was in front of us all along. We turned left to take the Gaienmae route, should be there in a few minutes. They are in the middle of a traffic jam. What should we do? There's no point in rendezvousing to NMC when they've still got a long way to go…_]

_Wait. There could be a possibility that they'll follow us to Gaienmae route, since it's faster. And we're inside a cab, unsuspected. _Mikado was mentally panicking.

[_We don't know if they're following us to Gaienmae route or not. Both of us have the same destination anyway. Will it appear to them that we are suspicious?_]

He pressed send, anxious of what was to come.

**. . . . .**

"You'll have to let us in, uncle," Izaya smirked at the guard, his hand resting on the open window. Kadota was copying his pose, merely adding a bad-ass look on his face. _That damn unimaginative man, _Izaya mused. They'd agreed to act as Juan's illegal subordinates, no matter how unconvincing it sounded like. In the end, Izaya was the only one talking, while all the other two did was glare in an intimidating manner at the guard. The ravenette had to admit that it was kind of helping.

"I said who you people are? What business do you have here?" His face was stern.

"I said, it's none of your business, uncle~"

The guard sighed. "I'm afraid you have to leave. You don't have permission to enter here."

"Who says we don't?" Kadota's smooth baritone replied.

_Good going, mate, _Izaya mentally thanked the beanie-wearing man. At least he _said _something. "We came here under orders from Juan-sama~" said man added. By now, his coat had been removed, lying on his lap. It was way too 'him' that Izaya decided not to wear the fur-trimmed article.

At the mention of one of Narita Medical Center's major doctors, the guard stiffened. "Juan Kagoyama-sensei sent you? He's never done things like this before. Are you lying?"

"Tsk," Izaya responded.

"He wants us to deliver something." Kadota answered.

"Deliver something? If so, then I'll have to check it."

At this point, Kadota didn't really know what he should say next.

Izaya stopped the guard with the once resting hand. "Ah, I'm afraid you can't. He has strict orders that no one should touch the item. Apparently one touch can affect much."

"How do I know that you're telling the truth?" said sentry suspiciously spat.

"We are," Izaya shrugged as if it was nothing. "He said that it was some kind of experiment. I personally don't like to deal with doctor stuff. He said it was important, and to us the reward money is pretty much alike~"

Kadota caught his cue. "It's pretty big," he cleared his throat, "the… compensation." He gave an if-you-know-what-I-mean look to the guard.

"So the rumors were true…?" Said sentry unconsciously whispered, still in shock. "That Juan Kagoyama-sensei…"

Izaya blinked, acting innocently. "It's a rumor here? Juan-sama sure is sneaky~"

"Uncle, you gonna let us in? He expected the item to arrive here at six. And it's already six past…"

"G-Go in, go in. Please don't tell him I caused trouble or things like that. I don't want to be—"

"Oh, shush, uncle. But you better keep it a secret~ If not, bam!"

Before Izaya could say more, Togusa ran the van into the parking lot.

To tell the truth, there was nothing at the back of a van.

**. . . . .**

Mikado _instantly _deadpanned after reading Izaya's next text.

[_Do not fret, o brave comrades. You shall not fail in this grave mission. All you have to do is never let thy enemy surpass your current speed. You must strive to disembark at the battlefield before your enemy does. As soon as you arrive, immediately enlighten the holy Guardian with the following information:_

_We are volunteers._

_Do not fret, o brave comrades. You shall not fail in this grave mission, as we will save thy princess Ran, as bequeathed in our destinies, and we shall grasp thy unblemished victory!_

_XD_]

**Extended ending**

"Holy crap," Kida said. On his left side of the face was a drop of comical sweat.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

Mikado laughed nervously. "…the only thing I understood was the 'we-are-volunteers' part…"

"Tsk, that sly troll."

**[1] A scene on Kaztano incident shows that they use chloroform to induce sleepiness. I found out on Wiki that those are used to make pesticides and I forgot the rest. So I chose to use the word 'anesthetic', since it is surgery-related. **

Thank God I read 'The Best Skilled Surgeon'.


	37. Party People

**Disclaimer** : Durarara! © Ryohgo Narita.

Ran Ryogo, Kazuki Ryogo, Shun Ryogo, Ryogaki Ryogo, Hinamori Ryogo, Juumon Sumimura, Juan Kagoyama © grammarsucks.

**Author's Note **: Thanks to **Leyshla Gisel**,** MissKenniGurl672**,** exaigon**,** HopelessScout0**,** Owlettes**, **Jules062497**,** Cheshishishire**,** AllSaidAndDone**,** kayukishinomiya**,** niluy**,and** NothingNEverything.**

**Care to read this first?**

First: I really don't think this story would be as big as it is now. A lot of people are following and viewing—silent readers, no doubt. I also got plenty of reviews. In my own opinion this story is very unstable and has an annoyingly slow plot, and I update like, once in a thousand years. And yet you still like it! I'm touched. Thank you so much for your support.

Second: I need more feedback, to know what you think, or maybe even a glimpse _of how you think this story will end_. I encourage you to post it by reviewing, but you can also PM me.

Thank you for reading, if you really are, and I'm sorry for so many ramblings. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

ありがとうございます!

Chapter 37 – Party People

Well, well, well.

Ran blinked at the sight of a low ceiling—was it really a low ceiling anyway?—with her narrow eyes. _Damn, _she cursed inwardly at her drowsy state. At least the numb feeling of her mouth being tied by something prevented her from emitting any kind of noise that could attract her captor's attention. Such a horrible déjà vu this girl was experiencing. The sound of a running car engine, well, most likely a 1500cc vehicle, the very little space she got at the back of said car—probably a sedan, judging by how the 'ceiling' was goddamn low. Ran's eyebrows furrowed.

The sedan blew the fog that hazed her assumption that Juumon and Juan were the ones behind this sickening flashback-ish event. It was obviously them. Why did she even doubt her suspicions in the first place?

Yeah, considering the fact that her vision and mind went blank after considering it was one of the Double Js that shoved a saturated cloth on her face. Damn, why did she even make up that childish nick? It seriously wasn't the right time!

She tried to breathe regularly and steady her heartbeat, the only two things she should be able to do without any kind of trouble. At this point, the brunette might've even got used to this kind of violent interference.

She cursed again, inwardly. _What did I do to deserve this?_

In a blink, the depressing thought that currently occupied her mind disappeared. To hell with that, she decided, and began to focus on what she could do to get her ill-fated self out of this situation.

Wrists and ankles tied up by a rope, Ran found herself immobile at the meantime.

Oh, ropes.

A small, momentous smirk suddenly crept slowly onto her face. It could be seen even with the cloth covering half of her face.

**. . . . .**

Izaya Orihara and two other clueless people, specifically Kadota Kyohei and Saburo Togusa, were roaming the white empty halls of Narita Medical Center like they were the ones that owned the building itself. The formerly mentioned informant was grinning to himself—if not nothing in particular, don't ask why because that's just how he was—while examining the whole area as they walked, as if trying to find a dirty spot in the hallway.

To think that Izaya was bored might not be the exact answer, since there was the usual beaming Cheshire-cat grin on his face. He was unerringly wanting for more to happen; fervent of what was to come, being the odd person he was. Izaya just wasn't the type to rub his hands together when excited. He was the type that prepared his mental self. He was looking forward to everything, how each turn of event was unpredictable.

He loved unpredictability.

"Oi, Izaya," Kadota's beanie hat were on his eyebrows, covering them. It still couldn't cover his anxiety, though. "Where exactly are we going?" He finished the sentence.

"Don't worry," the aforementioned man answered, eyes still scanning around in front. "I planted my babies here a few days back."

"Babies—what the heck are they?" Togusa's face scrunched.

"My cameras," Izaya replied coolly. "It can receive audio and visual data, fixed them in considered places." He paused. "This place sure is fancy~" The grin crept back as he sounded his irrelevant personal (probably fake) opinion.

Kadota was scanning a room with different eyes—narrowed ones, half of it because of the blinding white neon lights above them, the other half because of the anxiety blanketed around him. They didn't have any information input about the doctors' arrival at this hospital, since said duo were expected to make their way through the front entrance of NMC.

Being neutrally realistic, Kadota Kyohei began to wonder if everything went according to their expectations. The cynical part of him told himself that it is impossible for things to go exactly the way someone wants it to be. In critical situations like this, anything could happen to them—to Ran, to Juan and Juumon, to Mikado and his friends, to Shizuo. As in anything, there were no possibilities of what would they experience. Something bad or something helpful, or what those events could cause.

Then Kadota realized something. What were they doing? What was the purpose of them _wanting _to do it? Why did they want to struggle to save _her_, a minor individual? Was she a heroine in a fairytale, a princess that needed to be saved by a load of warriors? _Damn no_, the man answered the last of his own questions. He and Ran maybe weren't best buddies, like he and the rest of his current gang. Hell, take Mikado for example. The boy didn't even know her very well.

She, in the first place, wasn't someone special or well-known. Well, well-known, yes, among those color gang brute punks, but not well-known as in a public figure, film star or such. Not the kind of popular guy that elicit gasps out of everyone's mouth when he or she walks around. If Ran was, let's say, dead, people—especially youths—would probably wonder if she went somewhere else or why she wasn't around Ikebukuro anymore, but there wouldn't be any mass media trying to dig information and investigate the roots of the news. She was just a normal resident of that part of town.

Kadota found the answer quite speedily after he thought of the brunette's background.

_Ran Ryogo didn't do anything wrong._

She was a newborn, free from worldly sins of humans, and yet she had to suffer from such hopelessness. Maybe she was the only person on Earth to experience _not _being the person she was designed to be. Kadota couldn't imagine himself being another person without knowing his real self. The secret was revealed to her at a very youthful age, when the world was supposed to be a place without worries for a child. It wasn't like that for her.

And she didn't even do anything to deserve it.

The single reason was enough to make him want to help her.

**. . . . . **

"Eh?"

Mikado glanced around the area they were standing at—the back entrance of Narita Medical Center. "I thought Orihara-san sort of said that there's a security guard here. There should be," he thoughtfully said out loud. Anri, Kida, and Shizuo were standing behind the young Dollars founder, inspecting the spot as well. "There's a security post there." Kida pointed. "Besides, it would be weird to find a big hospital like this having no security safeguards."

Everyone agreed to the statement without even nodding their heads.

"We should just go in, maybe." Shizuo spoke up. "There's fat chance this is the flea's doing."

"I'll try and contact him now. Would you guys mind checking the duty post out? Make sure to look out for CCTVs." Mikado flipped his cell phone and scrolled down his contacts. The three other people strode quickly towards the small cubicle.

**. . . . .**

Thank whoever that Ran was wearing shoes. The pair of sneakers she was wearing was big enough to let her feet slip out, not to mention her socks. They both were ankle socks, allowing the low dip to easily slither down to the middle of her feet. _Damn, now how can I get these ropes off? _She thought, brows furrowed, as her hands struggled to get themselves out of the bonds. Ran was cautious enough not to make a sound—it was quite an easy job, since there was nothing at the very back of the car.

_Why did they have to put _me _in a _fucking_ sedan? _Her mind complained about what little contracted space she had at the back of the car. Cursing herself and pushing those irrelevant thoughts aside, her slender fingers began to explore the rope that entwined her wrists together tightly. _Now… what kind of damn knot is this?_

It wasn't so hard to figure out what kind of tether it was. _Three weeks of joining the girls' scout wasn't that useless_, she mused to herself, relieved that she actually chose to join the supplementary activity—which only lasted for three weeks that felt like the Hell of Boredom.

The world is cruel, though, filled with unexpected things.

Her hand phone suddenly rang with a three-second long piano jingle. It was a text message—a goddamn text message, and her wrists were constricted, and she could literally feel her kidnappers sensing something wrong. Curse their compliant antagonistic instincts.

Ran's mind wandered: _what will they do now—pull over and check? Drive to their destination? I couldn't possibly pretend I'm still under drugs… who sent the text? Was it Izaya? Did he notice something was wrong?_

…

Well, fuck it all, her mind echoed. Why was she thinking about that asshole? She even thought that he would be a knight in shining fur-trimmed jacket of some sort and come to save her, the damned damsel in unwilling distress? Holy shit—was it inevitable that _he_, out of all the people she'd known, was the one that popped out in her mind first?

Her family might be worrying about her, especially her mom. Oh, no need to question Ms. Hinamori; she must be panicking right now. Shun and Kazuki would probably sweat too. The mental image she unknowingly induced by herself was now plaguing, _chewing_ her mind like a horrible child's nightmare. She didn't want them to be upset or worried, no, especially _not _her father. She didn't want this to happen.

And now a text—from who, what does it tell, she didn't know anything.

The tune played again from her cell phone. Another text, Ran wanted to scream. She could hear mumbles from the front passenger and driver's seat.

"That was her cell phone." _No doubt that's Juan_.

"She couldn't possibly be texting while asleep." The sarcasm was dripping from that sentence as she felt the sedan speed up a little. _Daddy-dearest is here, _her mind sneered.

Ran could barely see outside the window. From where she was _forced _to lie down, with only feet free from rope binds, she could only see an orange sky with traces of trees. More trees, one or two two-storey houses, before it became trees again. The scenery flies as the car moved along the road.

_I should find a fucking way to get my hands out._ She told and reassured herself that what was to come wasn't important, and that now's the time that matters. Her skinny fingers floated around the binds that tied her wrists, resuming her search of the center of the knot.

_Clove hitch knot _[1]_? Seriously—this is what you use to tie a person up? Must be Juan's slapdash five-minutes-to-go doing. _She frowned. Why was he in such a hurry, like a ghost was chasing his butt?

Like a ghost was chasing his butt; something fast—sloppy, maybe. It could even be the kind of object that goes full-power without any control.

Togusa—was it Togusa? Togusa persecuting the gas pedal of his van sounds like a ghost chasing someone's butt.

_So Juan was tying me up when suddenly he realized there was something trailing behind? _She came up with that temporary deduction. And now her abductor was trying to speed the car up, which means they probably still had a long way to go. Distance takes time. She should be able to release her hands and do something with those texts within five minutes max.

_But still, _she mulled over, _clover hitch is still too easy._

And thus, her fingers went to work, ignoring the discussing murmurs between Juumon and Juan.

She had the time, and she'd kill herself if she didn't use it well.

**. . . . .**

"Orihara-san," Mikado called out, panting as he ran across the hallway.

The aforementioned informant turned around, along with his two other companions. "Yo~" he almost childishly waved and let the boy catch up, him standing motionlessly at one spot. "Took you long enough; was traffic that bad, though?" He only got a frantic nod as an answer. Izaya grinned. "Well, thy soldier bestowed with bravery!" He exclaimed all in a sudden, the sound reverberating on the walls, hands apart. At his choice of words, Kadota and Togusa both raised their brows. "Please report."

Mikado, who had recovered his breathing, began to speak. "Sonohara-san and Heiwajima Shizuo-san are currently turning to the front entrance through the lobby. One of them will immediately inform me when CM24014 arrives. Kida is stationed at the security post of the back entrance, checking the security cameras and also looking out for their car. He should be able to assess the situation. We looked around the area and assume that the guard left. What did you do, Orihara-san?"

Upon hearing the paragraph-long exposition from the high school boy, Izaya smirked, impressed._ Someone's really eager. _"Nothing, we merely had a… chat."

The other boy didn't look too convinced.

"Alright, I gave him the basic information."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not that important now, boy," Izaya laughed lightly and began to walk again. "You should follow us first. The room should be somewhere here," he continued.

They walked silently along the white halls, occasionally passing brown wooden doors that could be patients' rooms, when suddenly Togusa's phone rang loudly. It obviously was a recorded track of Ruri Hijiribe. Said man's eyes widened as he saw the name on the screen.

"Where were you guys!" he hollered as soon as he pressed the 'answer' button.

Kadota huffed. Karisawa Erika and Yumasaki Walker; those two sure have great timing.

The four kept walking on as Togusa scolded the otakus and told them to hurry to NMC, ASAP.

"If not, you'll miss the fun."

**. . . . .**

Shizuo stopped as soon as they reached the lobby. "Alright, you wait here and I'll check if their car's about to come in," he said, looking down to Anri. Said girl's clear eyes blinked behind the round spectacles. "But I thought they recognize you?"

"Of course, for throwing a street sign at him," Shizuo answered forthrightly, like the act he just mentioned was nothing. Anri forced out a shy smile, but later she rejected. "But then what will you do if they're near? You couldn't possibly…"

"It _is _possible." He cut in, unfolding his own shaded glasses and putting them on. "Now you stay here as I say. I'll call you if they're here."

That said Shizuo left the lobby, which was not really busy, leaving Anri alone. The girl sat on a vacant seat with a direct view of the door and the outside scenery.

It was almost night time—some employees were off to have a quick dinner, and there were only a few patients sitting around spending their free time. Immediately after the blonde man stepped out of the sliding doors towards the garden, he dug his right hand into his pants' pocket for a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Waiting wasn't a job he was good at.

He walked towards the gates, leaning beside it, just in case he could spot the car. Glancing around, he wondered if there was anything heavy that could knock their vehicle down—an unnecessary flashback of when he cut the roof of Blue Squares' car occurred in his mind.

What snapped him out was the very familiar roar of an engine.

"Celty," he whispered the name to himself before trying to keep his composure. As soon as Shooter stopped in front of him, the man approached her. "How did you know about this?" He asked, face back to its usual state of appearance.

"_Izaya told me." _She typed. _"How dare you, not telling me about this? Do you think that I'm not concerned of her safety as well?"_

Shizuo smirked. "It's not that I don't think like you don't care. It was kind of tense."

"_Define 'tense'."_

"As in, a situation like when Juan and Juumon's car are right in front of us."

Celty's finger that was about to type stopped, but landed smoothly on the touch-screen of her PDA.

"_Now what are you doing here?"_

The smirk still adorned his face. "Waiting for them to arrive," was his simple answer.

"_They have Ran with them?"_

A chuckle escaped his lips. "Yes."

Feeling something rather different in the man standing in front of her, Celty decided to ask him unswervingly. _"What is so funny, Shizuo? You've been grinning. Now you're sniggering."_

"It's just nice to have everyone here. Now it's a party," he paused, "and my fists are ready to swing."

**. . . . .**

The scenery transformed from a tangerine sky into a deep navy blue. It was evening, after all, and Ran had only been awake five minutes ago. _Juan probably ran out of anesthetic sleeping liquid after putting them on me, _Ran thought. _Or maybe the sick prick has more. _Hands free from clove hitch, she grabbed her phone that rang earlier and opened it slowly to not make a sound.

_One unread message from _[Asshole], it said. And below it was _[no content]_.

An idea made a brilliant entrance into her mind. At least her less-than-two-seconds-created plan would be able to freak her abductors out mentally. As quietly as possible, the brunette began to type a new text message on her phone and sent it out.

_Now, how to get out of this car… _

**. . . . .**

The ring that sounded twice from a phone ruined the silence of the hallways when they were almost their destination. The four of them simultaneously stopped when they heard the ringtone. It turned out that it was Izaya's, as he was the one shoving his hand into a pocket and quickly pulling out the phone.

"A message," Mikado looked from behind.

"From Ran," Izaya added, grinning almost from ear to ear.

The other three males gawked at the mention of her name. "Impossible," Togusa announced—it was rationally impossible, as he said earlier.

Izaya shrugged and chuckled deeply; the informant seemed to be very interested in their current situation. "Well, I'd say I don't know how she is doing this," he paused to think, "but of course there is a possibility that it was one of her kidnappers that sabotaged her phone and sent this to trick us." He stretched his arm, the phone in his grip, and showed them the text.

[Empty]

At an instant, three pairs of eyebrows furrowed. "What is the meaning of this?" Kadota spoke up, puzzled. "If this is really their plan, then—"

"We'll play along," Izaya cut in the sentence. "Now I have a plan."

**. . . . .**

_Jingle~_

_ Jingle~_

More jingles sounded inside the car, all of them sounding the same, coming from Ran's cell phone. The girl smirked from behind the cloth that was covering part of her face. So that asshole actually got her message. She didn't even bother to open those texts, though. Double Js would probably be curious to find her phone with no unread messages when it had been ringing the whole two kilometers.

_Jingle~_

Never in a point of her life did she really enjoy listening to her phone constantly ringing. She could literally feel the atmosphere of irritation and worry from the front seats.

_This is only the beginning, folks. _

[1] A knot which is not most secure when used as a binding knot; Google-d it.

This damn chapter is so damn full of damn cursing. I'm sorry.

Anyway, here's a bonus, as my apology for a bad chapter and updating late. Can you solve this riddle?

"**I or a hazy aria"**

Review the chapter and the answer~ LOL


	38. Begin!

**Disclaimer** : Durarara! © Ryohgo Narita.

Ran Ryogo, Kazuki Ryogo, Shun Ryogo, Ryogaki Ryogo, Hinamori Ryogo, Juumon Sumimura, Juan Kagoyama © grammarsucks.

**Author's Note **: Thank you, **Leyshla Gisel**, **TragicAtBest13**,** EvilBoysR2Cute**,** frBalloon**, **SawalRockGurl**,** xXSilenceXInnocenceXx**,and** Hidden Depths of the Mind**.

The answer of the previous riddle is Izaya Orihara, obviously~!

Now, another riddle, because I'm sorry for the super late update:

"**Clean, intricate dream**"

Chapter 38 – Begin!

The sedan started to slow down, signaling that they were almost arriving at their destination, and the now conscious passenger seated in the back was well aware about it. During the last five minutes, she had been thinking about a plan to bring an end to their plan of scrutinizing her without _her_ permission. Ran wondered if either Juumon or Juan could feel the pissed aura from where she was positioned in the car—if they were too busy thinking about what kind of human they were going to create, she was going to slice their throats.

Since her plan of playing dead unconscious until the last second sounded really obvious and clichéd, the brunette decided to do something more hardcore and unexpected. It was a do-or-die kind of countering plot she rarely comes up with, being an overly-aware person, if not paranoid. Ran was in a situation that involved her death as a personality, regardless that her body would keep on living as 'Ran' with another character. That is, if their plan was going to work. The offset-type plan she thought of would hopefully take them by surprise and cancel their hard work.

_Who gives a damn about their hard work anyway? _She thought as she watched the dark blue evening sky. She was going to make sure her father would listen to the words she always wanted to say. The girl already swore to herself that she would lecture him no matter how the ending would turn out for her.

It was her second time experiencing a live-or-die situation, but this time it was not like the one before—apparently those two bodyguards—the _creatures_ Juan hired were all muscle no brain.

This time it was all brain, no muscle, but she bet there were going to be a lot of knives and pistols.

**. . . . .**

_"I am still mad because _none _of you told me about this crucial matter." _Celty Sturluson typed. The pressure of her fingers on the screen of her PDA showed how angry she was. _"Why didn't you tell me about this before, Shizuo?"_

The blonde shrugged, his cigarette still resting between his lips. "I told you it was the tension. We were sitting in a cab right behind their car. How are we supposed to think without feeling like there's a time bomb strapped on your waist?" He commented in his usual low voice after blowing smoke from his mouth. The contamination didn't seem to affect Celty in any way.

She began to type a reply. _"Why not _before _you were in this 'tension' phase? Are all of you leaving me out because I'm a woman?" _There were exactly _two _question marks in each end of her sentences. Shizuo could feel how pissed Celty was at the moment.

"Honestly, I don't know why we didn't tell you earlier," he paused, "Hell no, Celty, we all know you are one powerful Dullahan. I think that's exactly why the flea called you here last minute." The bartender-clad man was obviously trying not to mention the name of his archenemy.

_"And why are you suddenly cooperating with Izaya?" _It sounded like she was surprised.

"Like it or not. I have a friend to save." There was something odd in that.

_"Why didn't Ran tell me about everything?"_

"Don't ask me. Ask her after we save her ass." It was a lenient answer.

_"Why do you think she didn't?"_

At that one, Shizuo averted his gaze towards where Celty's eyes would be. The cigarette was rested between his fingers when he began to speak. "She is unsurprisingly a person that doesn't want to trust people and not wanting to depend on them, because of human's natural behavior. When someone precious leaves, we mourn."

Celty didn't say anything in return. Shizuo didn't know what was she thinking about, nor how did she feel. He looked to the ground instead.

"She is afraid of attachment."

No trust, no reasoning, no more to say.

**. . . . .**

Izaya chuckled. "Now _that _was an exhausting session of texting, right?" He asked, but really not caring about the other's answers. Togusa, Kadota, and Mikado probably got their thumbs a cramp, sending a lot of empty messages at once. The high school student huffed after the rather vigorous activity.

"Are you sure that was going to work, Izaya-san?"

The black-haired man shrugged casually as if spamming was nothing. He wore a smirk on his face. "I can't guarantee that something so simple will save her life," he paused, examining his nails. "But that'll surely annoy Double Js."

Mikado had a look of bewilderment on his face at the odd pet name Izaya gave the two cronies. "Uh, um… Anyway, where are we heading to?" he said, wondering why they stopped walking along the white hallways. The quietness and tension made the atmosphere around them uncanny, disturbing the boy along with Kadota and Togusa—Izaya, however, seemed rather fond of it. He was one sick man, after all.

"We've already arrived, young man. Anyway, Togusa," the sick informant began, "why don't you go pick Karisawa-san and Yumasaki-san up?"

Togusa blinked. "Okay," he simply said, and sprinted away towards the back entrance, where his beloved van was parked.

Mikado still had that look of confusion on his face. "What do you mean—?"

"I mean exactly what I say," Izaya replied, before then pointing towards the white door on the wall beside them. It clearly wasn't built as a secretive doorway or such. The boy looked back to Izaya. Kadota was watching the whole scene in silence, as he thought that words weren't needed right now.

"Try and open it."

He blinked in slight astonishment, but did so anyway. Mikado gripped the knob and turned it.

An odd sound emitted.

"It's locked," Mikado stated. Izaya nodded as if he already knew. "Exactly, that is why we are waiting."

Again, he blinked, this time the surprise was more than the last. "You mean we're going to—are you serious, Izaya-san?" Mikado gushed out the words in panic. Luckily it was quiet there.

Izaya smirked.

**. . . . .**

Juan stayed nonchalant as ever, but furtivelywondered whether the anesthetic drug's effect had worn off and Ran was awake. He shifted his gaze to his senior, who was focusing on the steering wheel. It looked like he was, but the younger surgeon speculated that Juumon possibly had a doubt in his heart. The brunette, conscious or not, he did not know, was his daughter after all.

_Humans_,he thought as he straightened his look on the road ahead, _are beings that cannot be alienated or estranged from emotion. _No matter how much they shun their selves away from said feelings or sentiments, even to go as far as despising them, it wouldn't do a thing. As people say, absence makes the heart go fonder—the more we distance ourselves from something absolute that we cannot _live _without, the more our living being will autonomously search for it.

The bespectacled man personally considered that emotions should not be rejected. It should be _used._

"We are here," Juumon's gruffly-voiced announcement spontaneously broke his apprentice's chain of thoughts, although just for a little while.

_Sensei's emotions will be tested soon enough. _

Among the dark blue night sky, the sedan's front lights shone brightly as they entered the open gate of Narita Medical Center's back entrance. The fact that the gate was left open did not escape from Juumon and Juan's observation.

"Where did the old guard go?" it was Juan's question. The elder sitting beside him sent a suspicious look to the lookout post to their right as he directed the steering wheel to the parking lot. "There's no one watching," he said, addressing the empty post, before pulling the handbrake easily as soon as the car was positioned appropriately.

Juan opened the door but halted. "We are supposed to carry her just like that?"

"You said 'we'." Juumon said almost mockingly. "_You _are going to carry her."

The younger man raised a brow. "Well, am I going to carry her just like that?" He replied while exiting the car, following his superior towards the back of the car where their supposed experimental bunny should be.

Juumon didn't answer. He opened the door swiftly.

The two were greeted by green eyes and untangled ropes.

Kida had been crouching down, almost positioned under the rotating chair inside the lookout post, his body shuddering lightly as a drop of sweat ran along his temple. The bleached blonde boy barely made his hiding—luckily it was dark enough that a light source other than the moon could be easily spotted. At least he trained his reflexes. His breath came out as hot puffs of air, despite the air conditioned room.

His right hand trailed down his pants' pocket and quickly grabbed the phone inside and shakily pressed a few buttons to send a new text message.

Mikado needed to know about their arrival.

After typing as fast as he could manage in that state of shock, Kida breathed in and out, enough to save himself from the temporary surprise. Now able to contain himself, the blonde wiped his forehead and peeked from the glass. He also needed to know what exactly they were going to do to Ran, every single detail of it.

**. . . . .**

There the three of them stood in the vast, white, silent hallway. They were feeling different things at the same time, but for Mikado and Kadota, it was mostly the apprehensive, tense air that enveloped them—the part fear, part stern situation that was ahead of them forcing them into that kind of atmosphere.

Save for Orihara Izaya, the god of thriller-action state of affairs. The black-haired asshole of an informant was _enjoying_ the smell of joy only he could sense, sickeningly, and currently he was busy making up scenarios inside his mind of what could happen soon.

The sound of a message ringtone shattered the buzz of silence that was around them the whole time. Mikado felt his phone vibrate. At the jingle, anybody could've sensed Izaya's smirk without looking.

A text at the time could've been bigger than a bomb for them. It was a vital way of communicating.

[From: Kida Masaomi]

The name of the message's sender itself was enough to catch Mikado's eye. The situation they were in would maybe catch his eye every time a text comes in. The boy blinked rapidly and pressed 'read' directly, and not having to wait long for the page to load was a blessing. He was _anxious_.

[_They're here. Pass this message on._]

Feeling that he needed to, Mikado showed the short text message to Izaya who was now leaning on the door. The ravenette smirked and took out his own cell phone, willing to pass the message to the others—he got to edit the text in his own style anyway. There was nothing to lose.

Meanwhile, in the front gates of the hospital, Shizuo and Celty's phone rang simultaneously as the waited. The 35 characters written were enough to make them dash their fastest towards the lobby.

Sonohara Anri received another text message from Izaya, inside containing instructions to get to their rendezvous point, in case any of them get lost inside the vast hospital. Anri's eyebrows creased upon reading it. As much as she wanted to deny his orders, Izaya was in a position where he was the one that know almost every bit of important information, and he was silently determined to keep it that way.

It was best to let him have the upper hand at the moment, she assumed. Every one of them was willing to put the remorse aside and just cooperate for once. They all did it for Ran's sake.

The man was worth all the hate, after all.

**. . . . .**

_Of course the Double Js were caught by surprise_, her mind reminded herself. It was the simplest, yet the perfect plan to cancel everything they've done. Ran bit her tongue to stop her laugh from escaping.

Their faces—it was hilarious.

"Good evening," it was a miracle that she could say that out loud in a composed tone without laughing midway. And now they were looking at her like she was a talking teddy bear. _Take that, you sick lot._

Juan was fast enough to contain himself with a clear of his throat. "Good evening," he sarcastically retorted. He was good, she would admit. The small upward quirk on the edge of her lip disappeared as soon as she heard him speak. The situation was oddly half uptight yet half funny to Ran.

"I bet you're surprised I'm up." Oh, she made sure to pour poison on that sentence.

Juumon was next to snap himself out of the surprise. "I cannot say that you're wrong," he stated in a grave voice. "We'll have to force you to come with us though."

When Ran got out from the place she had been shrinking for minutes, she swore that Juumon and Juan became guarded and wary that they quickly got into their so-called battle stances—the former, her daddy-dearest, got a hand inside his lab coat's pocket, while the latter steadied his hand on his left pants' pocket.

That blew their weapon hideout, frankly. She acted like she didn't notice.

"Force?" she said again, after slamming the door close.

"I'll walk along with pleasure."

What the hell she was planning, no one knew.

Kida resumed his peeking from the post, silently observing the scene a few meters in front of him. He watched nervously upon witnessing an up and healthy Ran Ryogo, exchanging words with the two men that were supposed to be punched up by the time she came conscious.

The blonde student quickly grabbed his phone and began to type another text.

**Short, I know. Sorry for the slow update. I promise the next chapter will be better.**


	39. Nemine Contradicente

**Disclaimer** : Durarara! © Ryohgo Narita.

Ran Ryogo, Kazuki Ryogo, Shun Ryogo, Ryogaki Ryogo, Hinamori Ryogo, Juumon Sumimura, Juan Kagoyama © grammarsucks.

**Author's Note **: Sorry for the slow update. Thank you, **SawalRockGurl**,** Matsurika**,** Leyshla Gisel**,and **near4EVER**.

So I changed the summary because I was bored of it.

Chapter 39 – Nemine Contradicente [1]

BEEP

Mikado flinched as he felt his phone vibrate, the gadget tightly gripped in his right hand the whole time, as he quickly checked it for an expected report message. It was from Kida Masaomi, his childhood friend, who was at the back door security post. Ran, along with Juumon and Juan were there, and by the contents of the text Mikado had just received, something strange was happening. The high school student felt Izaya at his shoulder, attempting to peek at the message.

"'I'm confused—Ryogo-san is walking along with them willingly. I couldn't listen really clearly, but I heard she said something like force isn't needed. I'll keep sending feedback. I'm afraid calling you would be a pain now, they'll notice me.'" The black-haired boy read the message aloud for Kadota and Izaya to hear, but the latter didn't seem to be fazed by the contents in any way.

The informant's expression was blank, but had a laidback indication in his brick red eyes. "That girl is smart enough to take care of herself and deal with those two," he spoke up, addressing the brunette who was currently with the two criminals. A lazy smirk made its way across his pale face. "Let her mind herself for now—she has her own plan."

Mikado turned to his side to look at the man, while Kadota eyed him curiously. "That's Ran all right, having some kind of backup in any kind of occasion," this time it was Kadota who sounded his opinion. "Izaya's right. We shouldn't clash her arrangement with ours—not yet, at least."

Izaya was still smirking as he spoke again. "She'll make her move."

With a few press on specific buttons, Mikado forwarded the mail.

Shizuo didn't even pant as he ran across the seemingly never-ending white hallways—he was indeed tense. Celty Sturluson and Sonohara Anri were tailing not too far behind him, though the bespectacled high school girl was breathing irregularly after ten minutes of running. Was there any special reason Izaya located their meeting point? Judging by his cunning mind, there must be something important about that particular hallway.

"Turn left now!" Anri said after confirming once again from the downloaded map in her cell phone. The complicated structure of the hospital building was enough to make anyone lose their way—luckily the informant thought of it beforehand and sent a link to download the map.

Each of them received a report message from Kida Masaomi, the one stationed at the back entrance, thus Shizuo, Celty, and Anri—who were supposed to look out for their car in the front door—hurriedly made their way to Izaya's meeting point as instructed earlier. It was marked [!] in the map.

After more running for another five minutes, they saw the other group in the middle in the hallway they were in. As the three approached Mikado, Kadota, and Izaya, they could see their rather astonished faces—due to the fact that Celty was there with them without some sort of invitation.

"My, my," Izaya shook his head slowly with a weak smile.

As soon as the Dullahan and the rest of the group rejoined, Celty flipped her PDA open and angrily _punched _the keypad.

"_Why the hell didn't you tell me earlier!?"_

**. . . . .**

"Force?" she taunted after slamming the door of the car close.

"I'll walk along with pleasure."

Juan narrowed his eyes at the clever retort, while his senior Juumon looked composed, though the curiosity and questions hanging about their minds were visible through their faces. Ran tried to remain loose and untailored, thus making her actions unreadable, because her main plan is to force the two to assume wrongly.

Or even, not able to assume at all.

"I'd like to tell you something first." She began. The two cronies still looked like they were cautious and wary at this point.

Ran folded her arms in front of her chest and leaned back against the sedan. "First, do not attack me with whatever things you have," she pointed to both of their respective pants' pocket and lab coat. "If you do, I'm gonna have to fight you. You wouldn't want to do it the hard way, I assume, so let's make it easy." She made sure the eye contact she had with her father who was more of a bastard and his loyal minion.

The look on their faces was, like she expected, worth it—eyes considerably widening and pupils dilating—signs of alarm. She focused on Juan's throat, and as she had predicted, he swallowed.

Having Juan Kagoyama, the young but rather well-known surgeon, on the opposing team was both an advantage and a pain in the neck. Unlike Juumon, the older one, his emotions and reactions were easier to read, while Juumon was calm and composed, hardly showing anything aside of those tense, rigid jaws. Ran held in a scoff. At least her years in the psychology faculty weren't for nothing. The troublesome thing about Juan's presence was his fighting skills. Being years younger than his own teacher, obviously Juan was physically stronger than Juumon.

The bastard even shot her once.

Brushing off the distressing thought of the fateful night, Ran broke the short period of silence enveloping them.

"Two, you should be willing to let me have a… death wish, of some sort."

Juan immediately retorted. "That would depend on what your wish is."

Irritated, she countered quickly. "I'm not stupid enough to 'wish that I don't die'."

"There's nothing you want that we have, except for your release." Juumon emphasized the last word he mentioned.

It was enough to tick her off. She felt like punching them in the face until they don't have one.

"Look!" She held her hands up and said the word loud enough. "I'm not even bound by anything; the rope your useless student tied on me was a piece of strawberry shortcake. Shut up, I don't need to know your opinion."

Her tone of voice—the cocky, liberated, trying to implicitly send the message that she cannot be tied down by anything, physically or mentally—her words clear, piercing and bravely said. She successfully irked the two, but it was Juan who looked perceptibly displeased. Ran didn't even bother reading him again. He was too predictable.

She hated predictability with a passion, and that was why she reached for her cell phone inside her pocket.

Juan, of course, sensing her freedom of communication as a threat, lunged forward at her who was still leaning back, but she calmly ducked into a squatting form while her green eyes were still focused on the screen of her phone. "Calm down, idiot," she said nonchalantly as she ventured her list of contacts, pressing the call button as soon as she found a certain name. The brunette stood up and turned, her back facing Juumon, as she looked at Juan.

Ran turned around again to face her father and stretched her hand out. "I'm not going to do anything that would disadvantage you," she began, the phone now attached to her right ear. "In fact, it might be the other way around."

Behind her, Juan grunted in slight pain after bumping into the side of the sedan instead of Ran, before the man pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose and stood up.

"You bit—"

"Stop," Juumon held his hand out, cutting the harsh profanity at the edge of his apprentice's tongue. "She isn't lying."

Juan halted. He didn't know why Juumon could confidently state the fact. Maybe it was a vague connection between father and daughter? If so, neither his teacher nor the girl would admit that they had that kind of mental link. Something inside Juumon's words convinced him that the girl wasn't lying.

BEEP

The cell phone already in his hand, Mikado quickly pressed open. Celty, Shizuo, Anri, and the others there looked intently at the boy.

[Mikado, they had some sort of chat going on. Surprisingly they didn't do anything to restrain her. Now she's calling someone.]

Right after he finished reading the text, Izaya's phone rang. The informant casually smirked at the name on the screen.

"Izaya…?" Kadota unsurely called out.

"It's Ran." He said it clearly, but they weren't sure that it was a slight amusement they heard in his voice. Mikado gaped, while Kadota visibly tensed. The two quickly recovered from shock, though.

"Did she do anything…?" It was Kadota and his assumptions.

Mikado shook his head and showed his phone to Kadota, on the screen was the latest text from Kida.

Izaya loved mind games so much that he probably would spend the rest of his life writing scenarios involving him and the other humans he claimed he 'loved'. But in the end, everything he thought was true, every deduction proved. He hated predictability with a passion, but still, the situation he and some others were experiencing at the moment was far from predictability.

A girl, who was supposed to be unconscious, managed to converse with her captors and called _him _while said captors were within range.

Talk about _fun_. He switched to loudspeaker mode.

"Hello~ this is Izaya speaking~" He answered the call with a sing song voice, grinning really wide until his eyes were nothing but slits.

"_Hey asshole, tell Mikado to cancel the post in Dollars."_

The informant blinked in amusement, his lips still curved upwards, while the aforementioned high school student had an expression of surprise written on his face. Izaya didn't pay attention to him.

"How did you know about the administrator's post in Dollars?"

"_The ride was so boring, I had to surf the net."_

He couldn't help but let out a happy-sounding chuckle. "Aye, Ran-chan," the other listeners could sense her grit her teeth at the very unwillingly given nickname even without having to think twice about that, "is there anything specific you want him to write?"

"_Just ask him to abort it and say that everything's alright."_

At that Izaya's ever-present grin faltered. "Are you sure about this?"

"_I couldn't be more."_

His own words echoed in his voice like a concealed guidance—_let her mind herself for now—she has her own plan._It was right in every perspective, he thought.

"Roger that~"

"_By the way, where the heck are you?"_

After faltering once, Izaya curled his lips once again, this time forming a rather sinful smirk. "Don't you know?"

He could even hear her grunt through the phone. _"Don't start, you asshole."_

"Ouch," he playfully responded, clutching at his clothed chest as if he was really in pain. "That hurt, Ran-chan."

"_Stop that goddamn nickname." _She emphasized each word—it sounded like a growl in his ears. Honestly, listening to her voice after hours somehow eased the black-haired informant.

"_So where the heck are you guys?"_

"Ask your daddy."

The phone call ended suddenly, but he wasn't one to be easily surprised, but…

"Mikado, stop your Dollars' members from coming, she specifically said to tell them that everything's alright."

…the high school student seemed to be surprised easily, judging from his eyes that had widened. "Why did she—?"

"I told you to just follow along for now."

Although half-heartedly, Mikado reached for his phone and started to type on the keypad.

At least Ran is alive and healthy; even better, she got a plan running in her head

**. . . . .**

She closed the flip cell phone and shoved in into her pocket quickly. The two others present could feel the arrogant air emitting around her, which was, for Juan, really irritating. Juumon didn't seem to bother it, since his mind was focusing solely on trying to figure out what was going on in her head. Maybe it _was _a fault, trying to make her _perfect_—now she's being a real pain.

As if the conceited aura wasn't enough, she smirked. Of course, proudly, eyes.

In order to further her endeavor of provocation, her eyes purposely met Juan's, hard. It was almost similar to clichéd scenes in most movies—yellow lightning bolts crackling and crashing at each other as their glares collided. She wasn't glaring that hard, though—the gaze she sent him was more of a cool one, the 'what a loser' kind of sneer. It was _his_ eyes that looked like a burning campfire.

He was such an easy person to goad at.

Ran broke it when she closed her eyes and sighed. "There, one card, gone. Of course, your party is the one most likely to win this." She declared it with such ease, as if winning or losing didn't matter, despite the fact that her life was at stake. He wins, she dies—not literally. Well, if she won, she hadn't even thought about it yet. She couldn't imagine what would she if she won.

The girl reminded herself that things like that should be considered later.

"Just now, my…" she struggled for words, "_companion _told me about their location." Shit, companion was such a misplaced word to address Izaya—that asshole, her companion? As much as she'd like to think he wasn't, he _was _part of her… companions.

Damn that.

Juumon responded at the piece of information. "Where are they?"

"I'm surprised you'd like to know. Funny, he said that you know where they are… now."

The two remained quiet, wondering what that particular sentence meant. And to think that it was the person from the other line on the phone that said it…

They realized the possibility that the people with her are highly skilled in mind games—although, unbeknownst to them, there was only one other person that rivaled Ran.

"So? Where are they?" She demanded. "…or at least, where do you think they _might_ be?"

Juumon seemed like he was considering—she didn't care what he was thinking about anyway. A few seconds later, the older man let out a breath and put his hands into his coat's pocket.

"I have an assumption."

The answer made her interested. "Which is?"

He started to make his way inside the white building, approaching the glass door about ten meters ahead of them. "Follow me," he said over his shoulder, leaving the two behind.

Juan was about to grasp her wrist, attempting to prevent her escape, but Juumon stopped his apprentice from doing so. The man somehow sensed—or maybe secretly knew—that Juan was going to strangle the girl. "Let her be," he said in a low voice, before resuming his walk. Ran and Juan followed, the former feeling less agitated than the latter.

Following Juumon was of course, an easy task. He was a senior surgeon after all, but a part of her didn't expect him to know the ways inside the hospital. Usually buildings for public services were simply built, in order to provide easy access for people. Narita Medical Center was different, she noticed. Izaya hadn't sent her the floor plans of this place, so she didn't recognize anything.

There could be a pattern of the hallways they were passing, but Ran couldn't care less. Juumon was honest back then, she just knew. Someone telling the truth could sound like they're lying; according to the situation, and vice versa—a person that was lying could sound like they're being honest, also according to the situation.

Ran hoped that Juumon wasn't the second type.

After a few minutes of walking (she didn't even bother to memorize the way out), they entered a new hallway, only meeting two or three patients along the way. Most of the nurses and doctors were stationed in the front area, perhaps. Upon entering the new hallway, Ran could spot a group of people standing meters in front of them, motionless. To see a bunch of people flocking together in this very quiet part of the hospital was a thing no one could've missed.

"Voila," she heard Juan murmur. Apparently the man also had suspicions about her… companions' whereabouts.

She could see their surprised faces—Shizuo's caught her eye. The girl easily spotted Mikado, the high school boy, trying to approach her. Izaya held out a hand and put it on his shoulder as a signal not to do so. Kadota and Celty seemed wary and cautious, while Anri was evidently worried.

Maybe they were taken aback about how the situation looked like; maybe they assumed that she willingly followed them here… well, that's not entirely wrong, either. But she wasn't going to _submit_. She has a plan. Of course the opposing party took notice of the fact as well. They just didn't know how to counter it.

"Ryogo-san—" It was Mikado quickly being cut off.

"Don't worry," she stated lightheartedly. "But I'm afraid you'll have to… back off for now."

Something snapped Kadota, somehow. He remained calm, contradictorily. "Ran, we've come all this way—"

"It's nothing I can handle." She glanced to Juumon almost tauntingly.

_Enough of small talk–now is the real deal. _She turned to look at said surgeon and his student.

"I really hope the death-wish kind of thing still applies, because I have one last thing on my list." She said with a smile. Both of them narrowed their eyes, which was a somewhat weird thing to see.

"…fine. A deal's a deal, however."

"Yes, yes, I know." She folded her arms in front of her chest casually, "geez, calm down."

Juan hesitated. "And what is this final wish you ask for?"

"I want to talk to him." She pointed to Juumon with her thumb. "Just the two of us, no security cameras or shit like those. I'm afraid there is one condition."

This caught their attention. "Which is?"

"I am not going to converse with him. He should only listen to what I have to say."

[1] From the Latin abbreviation (n. c.), meaning 'with no one speaking against'.

Sorry for the late update and the slow plot. The next chapter's gonna be hard to write… Please stay tuned and tell me what you think.


	40. Literal Chat Room

**Disclaimer** : Durarara! © Ryohgo Narita.

Ran Ryogo, Kazuki Ryogo, Shun Ryogo, Ryogaki Ryogo, Hinamori Ryogo, Juumon Sumimura, Juan Kagoyama © grammarsucks.

**Author's Note **: Oh God, I'm really bad at this. Thanks to:

Ayanna Yume

maystericawilder

tamy0998

Leyshla Gisel

SawalRockGurl

Commander Yuki

saphelye

jennyz

EternalxPrayer

Myaah

Yamiroo Alice

Chocomelon

Edited 5 minutes after publishing.

Chapter 40 – Literal Chat Room

The lighting of the room was considerably darkened; she didn't even care about that tiny bit of detail. There were various medical, specifically surgical equipments on the tables that were situated near the walls of the room. Ran took note of those as she examined the room once. Dull gray painted over most of the things there, creating a duller atmosphere. It looked exactly like a detention room in a police precinct, not to mention the square iron table and two leather chairs in the middle of the room. However, to think that the room looked like it was meant to be for interrogation, her mind couldn't help but disagree. She wasn't going to interrogate the old man; she was going to make him listen to what she wanted to say.

Her hand played with a scalpel that she unconsciously held on to, twirling it with her slender fingers. Her green eyes didn't bother to search for the form of her damned father, for he was already sitting on one of the chairs near the table. She was facing the wall, leaning her other hand on the table. As long as they were in this room—free from audio and visual surveillance—she was the one with more power. It was her only chance to win the game, and the brunette didn't want to waste it. Instead, she thought for a while.

_Seven minutes ago_

Juan easily reached for the key in his lab coat's pocket and inserted the silvery object into the hole. Mikado and the others were undoubtedly wondering about what was beyond the previously locked door, as they seem to bore holes with their eyes. Only one person from each side entered—the captive and the captor. The rest of them were left outside, wondering what could possibly happen to either of them. Izaya didn't stick to that question as long as the others, anyway. At that point, his competitive side was unleashed somehow, and he took the pleasure of forming a plan that could rival Ran's. His red-hued eyes glinted.

Meanwhile, Ran and Juumon were already beyond the closed door. Her green eyes blinked a few times, attempting to adapt themselves with dark surrounding of the hallway. There was a heavy-looking iron door ahead of them at the end of the hallway, but Ran didn't pay too much attention to the door. The strong smell of hospital, which probably came from sterilizers, didn't allow her to do so.

As she caught sight of the various glass tubes and the floating… things inside it (she could somehow guess what they were, but it was plainly disgusting), her green eyes narrowed on its own as they walked slowly down the hallway. The brunette simply couldn't miss the labels attached on each tube—a name was written on them with ink, and it was unmistakably handwriting. She glanced at Juumon's back. He didn't seem to bother or take notice. Instead, the middle-aged man kept on walking.

The tubes' contents were… materialized genetics from the supposed volunteers, with names attached on each and every tube. The thought that they were going to be transplanted inside her when she was a newborn sent long shivers down her spine. Ran eyed the glass containers and their contents warily. If she lost this dipshit crazy bet, those materialized genetics will undoubtedly be used on her again. Her jaws tightened.

It was somewhat eerie in the hallway, she wasn't sure if it was because the containers on the racks or the light green, misty shine of neon lamps. Ran's fists were clenched inside the pockets of her orange jacket, suddenly aware of the rather low temperature. It was the cooling system, she noted, and it was doing a real good job of 'cooling'.

She could've punched Juumon from behind if she wanted to, but no, apparently violence wasn't enough to express her boiling anger she managed to suppress all the time. That thought alone brought a quote by a certain someone up her memory lane.

_ "I hate violence."_

Ran scoffed inaudibly at the words that crossed her mind. It really wasn't the time to suddenly think about a certain bleached blonde bartender-clad man. He hated violence, but used it much too often. She hated useless chatter, but there she was, ready to lecture the crap out of the damned man standing in front of her.

Speaking of said damned man, he was punching the numbers on an electronic lock that was placed on the right side of the door, his other hand tucked inside the pocket of his lab coat. Come to think of it, the door had no knob to begin with. _So the only way to open this door is to enter the code_, she thought, unconsciously paying more attention to Juumon's moving fingers across the panel. _There's no way anyone could push it, _Ran averted her gaze towards the iron door. It looked heavy enough to her eyes.

A short second later, she heard a whizzing sound from the door, which was slowly opening. She swore she saw smoke of some sort dissipating when the door opened. _Immense difference in air pressure_, she told herself.

The opening door unveiled the bright light inside the newfound room.

_Present time_

The scalpel, no matter how sharp and dangerous, kept twirling in her hand. She made it to a new level by spinning it around.

Juumon was sitting quietly behind her, probably observing (or wondering) about what she was doing with her back facing him. There were lots of harmful medical equipments stacked and sorted neatly on the tables, and he was sure that she could've stabbed him with one of the knives or scissors there. He knew she wouldn't, even if she could. The old man could even mentally imagine her shoving a bone cutter [1] down his throat.

Ran turned around and inspected the room once again, all the while spinning the scalpel on her nimble fingers. There was a cupboard, of some sort, filled with more containers. There was a folded green mattress stored as well.

Judging by the absence of surveillance, presence of extracted genes, the wide variety of medical tools, and that mattress, the room is for illegal surgery and other… secret purposes, much like the ones in Yagiri Pharmaceuticals. 

She had been wasting time by being silent.

"So, this is where I die?" she asked with a raised brow and a teasing tone.

Juumon let out a grunt.

Meanwhile, outside the door, Juan was the only one in the opposing party that was standing among the others, seemingly unwavering and confident, probably because he had this chauvinistic belief that his tutor would never lose to a mere girl—almost forgetting the fact that said girl was his tutor's daughter.

Mikado's face was serious, his eyes screaming 'I want to help!' with beads of sweat running down his temple and fists clenched at his sides. Apparently no one liked the feeling of helplessness.

Celty, of course, couldn't possibly have shown facial signs of worry, having no face in the first place. She was emitting that kind of… worried air around her, though.

Anri, on the other hand, had shifty eyes, most likely frightened of her imagination of what was happening inside the room. No one among them could deny that they've also tried to picture the chain of events happening inside the closed door. What was beyond the door, anyway?

The only other person in the hallway was Kadota, trying to remain calm and cold-headed to be able to analyze the situation. It looked like he was the only other person endeavoring to form a quick-play plan inside the beanie-concealed head…

After visually observing the other residents of the hallway, Izaya felt like he wanted to sigh audibly. Most of them were too naïve, he thought to himself. Juan Kagoyama, _thy archenemy_, was standing there among them, and Celty didn't even look like she was going to punch him.

Eventually, Izaya let out the sigh he had been containing, smirking all the while—of course, in some sickeningly clichéd way, no one took notice of him. It was Ran's fault, he mused. She made their attentions focused solely on her, and it worked really well because she was alone in an isolated room with a senior surgeon that could just dissect her anytime if he wanted to.

_Things are beginning to get boring_, he told himself. It wasn't a secret that Izaya despised boredom maybe even more than he despised Shizuo, and that he would do anything to annihilate it—anything.

It also wasn't a secret that Izaya has God-like switchblade skills.

…apparently a high-school girl, that happened to be the victim of said skills, was the one that spread out the word about it.

The small, compact item is always kept inside his jacket's pocket, for the sake of immediate access. He stuffed both hands inside the pockets and approached Juan Kagoyama, whom noticed the black-haired informant without failure. Bespectacled eyes narrowed when they met brick red ones, both pairs carefully scrutinizing each other. Juan was the first to break their eye contact when Izaya spoke up.

"Sensei [2]," he spoke in a light, almost playful tone, "Aren't you… bored?"

Juan, since it was his first time to encounter (and become a victim of) one of Izaya's mind games, still maintained his serious face, although his inner self was quite confused—he didn't know what should he say. Izaya smirked dangerously, but it was gone in the next blink of the eye.

At the scene before them, the rest of the gang could only take part as audience, exactly as what Izaya had wanted from the start. Neither of them had an idea crossing their heads, as Izaya's actions or/and reactions are always, always unpredictable. None of them knew what he was going to do, and they continued to watch carefully.

Izaya kept his grip firm on the object kept in his right jacket pocket, all the while walking towards an unwavering Juan. "Say, no one likes a boring wait." He smirked, but this time it didn't fade away. "We can at least make this interesting."

There was movement, albeit very minimal, but the younger surgeon noticed it. It was one of Izaya's hands, but what was he doing exactly?

Juan was about to grab his gun, but he couldn't believe what he saw in the next three seconds.

_Inside_

"So, this is where I die?"

The words echoed slightly in the spacious room. She twirled the scalpel again, but stopped.

"Answer me." Her tone dropped lower, changing from the light, teasing one into a rather threatening one. "Have the both of you prepared things for _my _operation here?"

Before Juumon Sumimura answered, there was a short span of silence in the room, in which Ran eyed him sharply.

"Yes."

She stopped leaning against the desk and started to walk again, this time towards another desk, approaching the equipments and examining them with her eyes, although she could care less about them. Carelessly, she placed the scalpel she once toyed with on the container, seriously not caring about destroying the orders of the perfectly sorted medical gears. Instead, she picked up a pair of tweezers and began to stare at it lazily.

"Is it true that there were no other survivors?" She was talking about the experiment on her.

"Yes."

"Tell me why you wanted to create someone perfect."

Seconds of silence passed. "No particular reason."

Her green eyes closed—she somehow expected that answer—her father was a mindless freak after all. Ran countered swiftly, "Of course you have none, daddy." She paused. "Then, tell me why you used me as a part of your experiment. Does that mean you want me to be perfect?"

The ball was on his court, as well as the silence… again.

"Is that a form of your affection?" This time she flashed a smile, a _mocking_ one, as she was feeling rather satisfied at how things turned out. "Come now, just admit it," Ran continued, eyes narrowing playfully. A voice in the back of her mind reminded her of how much she resembled a certain black-haired informant at the moment, but she shrugged it off.

Sometimes being and acting like Izaya has its pros more than cons.

Juan grunted. "I'll have to say no to that."

"And why, pray tell?" Shit, she seriously sounded like him. Ran had one hand on her left hip, the other still messing with the tweezers. She kept her eye on Juumon, who was sitting still on that chair of his all the time. The old man refused to meet her gaze.

"That's none of you business."

_Now that's some effort of resisting_, she said to herself. "Question time's gonna be over soon, you wench."

She spit out the last word in an un-ladylike manner; she didn't need to be ladylike in this room, anyway. Ran finally lost her bit of interest on the pair of tweezers, hence throwing it behind her. A clattering sound broke the stillness of the room, coming from the equipment she tossed over her shoulder, effectively dumping it on the container with the other tools.

"After this I'll probably scream fucking profanities in your ear." She murmured dangerously.

_Outside_

The lower part of Juan's lab coat's right sleeve was _sliced_, and anyone might note, sliced very precisely, as if the culprit did it while the coat was vacant. A rip wouldn't look so straight and neat. The owner of said coat, like every normal person who encounter frightening surprised, had a shocked expression on his face.

"When the hell…?"

"Well, there's nothing interesting to do, so," Izaya had a smug look on his face, "I decided to mess a bit with you." It was then the bespectacled man noticed the sharp item on Izaya's right hand. A switchblade was in his tight, but at the same time lenient, grip. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that said switchblade was the one that damaged his coat.

Izaya smirked victoriously at the outcome, not minding the equally shocked responses from his comrades. Mikado seemed less surprised though, as the boy had already witnessed it once in a deserted alley almost a year ago.

…it didn't take a ravenette mind-raper that it was enough to provoke Juan.

_Inside_

"I don't care about what kind of answer you're gonna give, trust me."

Apparently Ran had calmed down from her (barely-near) outburst previously, this time a bone cutter in her hands. She looked like a curious child, playing with the utensil as if it were a toy. Juumon started to think that his image of her pushing down the tool into his throat might be possible, as he stared at the brunette who stood near the wall.

"You remember that I said this'll not be a conversation," she paused, "keep that in mind."

With that said, the green-eyed girl sent a glare to her father, cold, but not as fierce. She stalked towards said man who was still sitting in the middle of the room, on one of the leather chairs.

"So I'll keep the question time brief."

Ran kept the bone cutter on her hands as she stood, looming over him.

"Last question…"

Juumon eyed her carefully as she handled the tool, meeting her glare for once.

"Who is my mother?"

Holy shit, this is lame—even lamer than my ATLA fic. Kill me.

[1] Google it. It looks kinda nasty, not to mention to thrust it into a person's throat…

[2] It apparently also means 'doctor' in Japanese.


	41. All Goes Well--Not

**Disclaimer** : Durarara! © Ryohgo Narita.

Ran Ryogo, Kazuki Ryogo, Shun Ryogo, Ryogaki Ryogo, Hinamori Ryogo, Juumon Sumimura, Juan Kagoyama © grammarsucks.

**Author's Note **: Sorry for the super slow update, and I don't even think this chapter is worth to make it up. My writing skills are, no doubt, getting duller.

Chapter 41 – All Goes Well… Not.

Apparently Izaya had low boredom tolerance. If things get bored only for a bit, the sociopathic part of him—no, wait, he _was_ wholly sociopathic—would make things go his way, which is the ever-exciting and unpredictable way. Izaya had chosen to slice Juan's lab coat to aggravate the man, but the action itself was one thing that surprised the rest of the people standing in the seemingly too quiet hallway. After all, since their arrival at the building, not a single person had ever passed the hallway.

Hospitals are always clean, in a way or another.

Somehow Mikado suspected that Izaya would 'break' under waiting-induced pressure, because said man hated doing it, but Mikado chose not to bother about it. Instead, he focused on Ran's safety. No one could guess what was going on inside a locked chamber, where a girl and a potentially dangerous man reside, even with the bargain Ran managed to make her father agree to. He could be the kind of man that will ruthlessly kill to achieve his own goal, but since the perfection of Ran's being _was _his goal, the possibility was thin. Mikado always had his own 'what-if's running in his head, but there were so many that he decided to ignore it.

Mikado's eyes—like everyone else's—was focused on three things: Izaya, the lithe switchblade in his grip, and Juan Kagoyama's sliced lab coat. Why Izaya had done that, they had a convincing theory, simply because that man is not the kind of person who will wait when he doesn't need or want to.

In other words, he was a bastard who would do anything according to his liking.

"You couldn't possibly think that I'll stand still and wait for her like a statue, right?" He said to the crowd behind him, while slowly approaching Juan with small steps. The younger surgeon took one step backward with Izaya's each step forward. The hallway was very long, and Juan wouldn't have his back on the wall until twenty meters later, but the informant didn't plan on cornering him at all. It's the kind of cliché he hates.

The gang watched with widened eyes at the sight—Izaya's back and Juan's wary look—but then their visions shifter towards a hand that was quickly stationed behind the coat.

In a split second, a bullet was flying towards the ravenette informant.

It was welcomed with a smirk on his face.

Of course Izaya knew that Juan was armed with a pistol, thanks to Ran's accident a while ago. Juan aimed for his head, this, Izaya had predicted. Dodging would be pointless, as the stray bullet would hit one of the people standing behind him. His switchblade wouldn't be able to block a bullet fired by a Walther P99, either.

Hell, just as the rest of the gang thought that they couldn't be any more surprised—

"Duck!"

With a gun in the opposing side raised, the holder ready to fire, and full understanding of the situation, who wouldn't reflexively do so?

The hallway's silence was deadly after the sound of a gunshot and his commanding voice seconds ago. Moments of the strangling quietness passed, until the raven-haired man decided to be the one to break it first. He chuckled.

"Do you realize you are going to attract people with that sound?" Izaya's voice sounded manipulative, not to mention the smirk that seemed to stay forever plastered on his face. "Well, I can't say I didn't participate in drawing attention, either." There was the snicker again.

Apparently Juan _is _a reckless man.

**. . . . .**

The two residents of the soundproof room were oblivious of what was happening outside at the same time. Ran's interest was still pinned on the bone cutter she had been holding in her hands the whole time.

"Just spill the answer," the brunette gazed down at her father.

"Does it matter who your mother is?"

"Does it matter to you that I ask about her?"

He was quiet for a while, but then, "No."

"Then answer."

Juumon moved his hand into one pocket, taking out his expensive-looking leather wallet.

"You kept her picture," she scoffed, "how romantic." The brunette took the portrait with a bored look and her right hand, the left still holding the handles of the bone cutter.

The forty-something woman in the photograph had the same brown hair as hers. She didn't smile, nor did she frown—she had that neutral expression on her face. Ran looked at the picture with green, uninterested eyes.

"Either you're somehow smart enough to manage to court her, or she's just plain stupid."

"It was an arranged marriage."

"I'm guessing you love her."

"I'm not sure."

"Of course you're not." The brunette handed the picture back to Juumon, whom slipped it back into his wallet and returned the item into his pants' pocket.

"I'm mildly interested in how she reacted when you used me as a guinea pig—or maybe she's already dead now."

"One question can always lead to another." She did say that the query about her mother would be the last.

Ran paused and averted her gaze to meet the old man's.

"I don't intend to ask more."

**. . . . .**

The events outside the door were beyond belief. Realizing Izaya's true intentions, Juan's bespectacled eyes widened behind said pair of lenses, utterly shocked. The vice-like grip on the gun didn't falter, however. The young surgeon didn't move for a few seconds; his brain was probably having a hard time trying to swallow and comprehend the things that happened.

He cursed colorfully, earning a wince from Mikado in particular, and hastily grabbed an item in his coat pocket amidst his shock. Both of his pupils were dilated, and in his state of nerve-wreck he could hear footsteps approaching as clear as day. He dashed for the door. Sweaty palms grasped on the small metal object, as he held on to its edge with shaky hands, trying to insert the key into its hole, fumbling in the middle of the process.

Juan registered the words that escaped Izaya's mouth, his voice flat and unsurprised. "Let's go outside," he said. After what seemed like days, the young medic finally succeeded in inserting the spare key he had kept inside his coat all along, proceeding to turn the object so quickly that it might break. The door clicked and opened while he hurriedly went inside, still panicked. Before he closed the door, he heard voices entering the hallway—voices that sounded almost as panicked as he was.

Mikado and his company were rushing down another hallway that leads towards the exit, and it didn't take too much time until they arrived at the back parking lot. Their sprint didn't halt until they were at the gate. Kida noticed that the security post, where he had been watching Ran moments ago, was still empty. Breaths became hastened pants. Anri had to rest her hands upon her knees, and apparently Shizuo's cancer stick wasn't stationed between his lips anymore. The blonde growled at the fact, before angrily facing Izaya.

"YOU FLEA! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

He roared the sentence out with such ferociousness and volume that made the rest of the group narrow their eyes upon the impact on their ears—even Celty showed signs that she felt rather uncomfortable at Shizuo's loudness.

Nonchalantly, Izaya answered. "I thought things weren't fun, so…"

"He's inside the room now, you scum! Who knows what might happen to Ran! You just had to do that!"

Amidst the argument heated in rage, Mikado dawned upon the realization that people from the hospital might be in search of them. The dark-haired high school student turned to face the tall blonde and the informant. "Um, a-actually," he hesitantly began, "after the mess inside there… I-I really think we should split up. If they find us crowding here, they might find us curious—"

"Someone's coming!" Kida sounded his thoughts before breaking into yet another sprint, running towards the street leading to Narita Medical Center's front door.

"K-Kida-kun!" Anri followed suit, her dash not as fast as before. Celty naturally followed the girl and the other bleached blonde, since Shooter was parked at the front entrance. Among the uneasiness she felt, Celty couldn't help but worry about Ran.

The brunette was with two potential murderers in a room that can only be opened by one of the aforementioned duo. _Can anything get worse than this? _The Irish legend thought to herself as she ran, following the street, despite the fact that she didn't really know how to get to the front entrance.

_I hope Ran really can kick ass—the man's got a gun, _she said to herself.

Meanwhile, Izaya and Kadota stood by the back entrance gate, the former bearing a blue bruise mark on his cheek. Kadota looked sweaty, from his thick clothing and the running, and he couldn't help but deadpan as he examined Izaya's face.

Shizuo managed to give him a good punch and a loud, deafening "DIE!" before running off towards the same route Kida, Anri, and Celty took. Somehow it wasn't really unanticipated. Mikado shrieked at the sight of Izaya that seemed to fly off to outer space at the impact of the punch and later falling down to the ground as quickly as it had started, but the Dollars boss managed to scurry off towards the main streets.

The silence was a mix of unnerving and awkward. Kadota heard voices coming from inside the building, but they soon died down. Surprisingly, nobody seemed to be checking the back parking lot yet.

"…Oi, are you sure you're okay?" Kadota asked hesitantly. "We're literally at a hospital, if you need treatment."

Izaya chuckled at the discomfited question. "I'm quite used to this."

Kadota didn't say anything for a while, but spoke up anyway. "I'm not surprised."

The informant let out another laugh, which sounded really unusual, considering the power of the punch he just received. He didn't even look like he was in pain. "This is the third time I've been hit hard by something."

"Something?" Kadota glanced to the man beside him, who was leniently leaning on the wall. "You mean, other than Shizuo's fist?"

He received a nod. "Shizuo's fist, Simon's fist,"—at the name of the Russian man, Kadota almost gawked—"and a vending machine, too."

The beanie-wearing man couldn't help but deadpan, but the expression vanished and turned into a wary one when he heard a stranger's voice. "You there! The one standing at the gate!"

Kadota turned his head reflexively, only to see a middle-aged man with a lab coat (he was beginning to get bored of looking at the clothing) running hastily to approach them.

"Yes?" he responded coolly, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he looked at the panting man with no particular expression. He assumed that this person was a doctor. After regaining his breath, the doctor didn't waste his time and shot Kadota a straightforward question. "Did you hear a gunshot?"

Kadota debated with himself as to answer 'yes' or 'no', but seeing as the former response would bring much more troublesome questions…

"No," he answered nonchalantly.

"Oh, I see," the doctor seemed a little upset, "m-m-maybe I misheard." It was obviously a lie, but this old man was thoughtful enough to hide the fact from the beanie-wearing man who was only a bystander in his eyes. "And, one more question, if I may…" The doctor seemed to be terribly well-mannered, Kadota noted.

The old man glanced to the left and right sides of the empty streets. "Do you see anyone suspicious pass, by chance?"

"I have, actually," he didn't need to spend time deciding the answer. "They went that way," Kadota pointed the left side of the street—the one that was the shortcut from the busy main street they were trapped in moments ago.

Doctor blinked a few times at Kadota's fast response. "Very well then, thank you very much. I'm sorry if I'm bothering—wait, are you okay there?" He cut his apology when his eyes caught the sight of Izaya's badly bruised cheek. The informant laughed loosely at him. Medic's instincts took over as the doctor said, "You need to be treated, young man. What happened?"

Izaya let out another chuckle. "Ah, this. I got into a fight with my girlfriend."

Kadota twitched at the excuse. Why girlfriend when Izaya could simply say he got into a fight with his friend? _The freak_, Kadota thought as his eyebrows furrowed. The doctor didn't seem to notice Kadota as he began to talk again.

"Why don't you go inside? Your wound needs to be treated, you know."

"Actually I've already had it treated yesterday." Another lie, of course. He'd be damned if he let himself walk into a hospital to cure a bruise when he could handle them by himself.

"Really? Are you sure it will be okay? The bruise looks pretty new."

_It is new, Sensei. _"Hahaha, don't worry, I'll be fine! Thank you, mister."

The doctor seemed unconvinced, but he let it go. Probably he thought that forcing the man to have his wounds treated would be rude. But hey, if it really is a new wound, that man's girlfriend sure is a strong one. He brushed away the unnecessary thought.

"Then, if you'll excuse me." He concluded with a bow before jogging across the parking lot towards the glass doors, leaving Izaya and Kadota into another silence.

Maybe Izaya was gifted with mind-reading skills, or maybe he planned it all along, since he said "I think you have a question for me, Dotachin" with a familiar smirk on his face. Said man grumbled as he hated being called 'Dotachin', and folded his hands in front of his chest.

"You could've just said you were punched by your friend, you know."

Izaya snorted. "You know I don't have friends."

Kadota tilted his head to look at him. "You don't have a girlfriend."

All he got as an answer is a mischievous grin.

**. . . . .**

When the metal door started to open and emit sounds of air, the two pair of eyes—one green and the other dark—were pinned onto the door. There stood Juan Kagoyama, face wrinkling rather angrily and white fists tightly clenched by his sides. The man strode into the room with wide, furious steps.

Ran smelled the odor of medicine from the air in the cold, dim-lit, eerie hallway that entered the spacious compartment. The brunette was currently holding another scalpel, albeit bigger, in her hands, toying with it as usual. She eyed Juan sharply.

"I thought we had a deal." She stated with a leveled voice.

As Juan began to approach the center of the room, Ran and her father noticed one different thing from the man, and it was none other than the neat slice of his lab coat. The green-eyed girl could only presume and imagine one person responsible for the damage.

"Something happened outside." It wasn't even a question. Ran's lips twitched upwards in amusement. The asshole couldn't sit still for a long period of time—_heck, it hasn't been an hour yet_, she told herself. Ran turned to face the young surgeon. "Either way, you broke the deal, Juan."

"So?"

She scoffed and walked towards the young man, scalpel dangerously spinning in between her fingers. "Can you at least go outside? I'm not finished with daddy dearest," she spat the last phrase with much loathe in her tone of voice. Juan jolted at it. The woman addressed his mentor disrespectfully, albeit sarcastically. Still, the disgust he heard was real.

The sound of her sneakers on the floor resounded with each step.

"Well?" She demanded. "Out. Now."

Juan's eyes narrowed as his gaze battled fiercely with her green ones.

"What makes you think you're in control?" he snapped back.

"We made a deal." She paused, but kept on walking. "Or are you the type of criminals who are very lowly that they never keep their promises?"

"It's stupid to believe in criminals."

"Well, at least you realize that you _are _a lowly criminal." She raised a brow.

Ran and Juan were now less than a meter apart—anything harmful can be done easily for both parties. Juumon Sumimura didn't make a single move as he watched the two younger people from his seat.

"I must say that type of criminal is the lowliest one." She said. Her sneakers-covered feet were planted apart on the ceramic floor. The scalpel still turned swiftly under the control of her fingers.

The look she gave him sent a message: _Get out before I make you._

She nodded her head towards the door, accentuating the message. "Quick. _Sumimura-sensei _doesn't want to be interrupted." One corner of her lips tugged upwards at how venomous the words sounded. "Your presence is unnecessary."

He gritted his teeth, a hand unconsciously ghosting over where his pistol was.

Her smile widened.

Apparently Juan _is _a reckless man.

**I hope I don't fail my readers—I personally think this is not really satisfying. Also, I feel like I don't get a lot of reviews. To ghost readers out there, reviews help me update faster. *shot***


	42. Curtains Lifted

**Disclaimer** : Durarara! © Ryohgo Narita.

Ran Ryogo, Kazuki Ryogo, Shun Ryogo, Ryogaki Ryogo, Hinamori Ryogo, Juumon Sumimura, Juan Kagoyama © grammarsucks.

**Author's Note **: The last chapter was vague, so I'm clearing things up here. And to put it bluntly and honestly, people who favorite/follow and not review are very hurtful.

Chapter 42 – Curtains Lifted

"So who is this 'girlfriend' you spoke about?" Kadota leered at the informant suspiciously. As if anyone would date a person as crazy as him. Izaya let out a laugh at the question, hands folded in front of his chest.

"I doubt anyone would want to go out with me, honestly." He answered, shrugging.

_This guy is a mind-reading asshole. _Kadota twitched an eye.

"I am not in relationship with anybody at the time, Dotachin. It was a _lie_ I made up for the doctor."

"You sounded like you're implying that you really have a girlfriend."

"The truth is I don't have one."

Kadota grunted. "Why didn't you just mention you got into a gang fight or something?"

Izaya completely ignored the question. "I can only imagine one person as my girlfriend, though."

"What?"

"But I'm not telling you." He said with a suspicious-looking smirk, and walked back inside the back entrance's parking lot.

Kadota blinked. "Where are you going?"

Izaya didn't even look back as he answered. "Where else we should be going to, if not the room beyond that door?"

_Meanwhile_

Juumon sat quietly in his leather chair like he was nestled comfortably in it, which directly contradicts the grave situation—grave for Ran, at least. Since she was rather unarmed and was facing a pistol-equipped man head on, the brunette should've felt a bit worried, under normal circumstances. However, she considered herself far from normal, despite her ability to blend in perfectly with the grey crowd of Ikebukuro.

The only old resident of the room merely watched the two—Juan and Ran—confront each other, situated a few meters from his seat. His eyes bore into Ran's back uninterestedly, unutterable moods glinting as he watched the scene before him unfold. He seemed to be waiting for the outcome of the two's quarrel, albeit their willingness to hurt each other. Juan seemed pretty willing, to say the least, as his face was twisted with boiling rage—an emotion directed towards the girl in front of him.

A hand unconsciously ghosted over where his pistol was. Ran couldn't imagine him carrying another type of weapon. It was safe enough to deduce that the man doesn't excel in close-ranged combats, and fortunately (although she wasn't the type to rely on fortune) her forte is in close-ranged combats.

_Know thy enemy_, she told herself with unchanging expression. Her green eyes were locked with his obsidian, anger-filled ones with a challenging glare. A scalpel wouldn't lose against a pistol, if the former was in the hands of a skillful person.

_The sociopathic freak probably can't stand the itches he got from waiting and decided to play with this glasses man… _

Neither of them moved, but Ran was sure a lot of things are running inside that head of his at the moment—malicious things like he's going to shove a bullet down her throat for badmouthing his oh-so-respect-worthy tutor. The brunette was also sure those thoughts would increase, the visions growing more vivid, doubling his anger and violence (that was still kept inside him, for the time being), until it comes across the point where those thoughts would make him explode and—

The hand made a sudden grab towards his weapon hidden beneath the lab coat (with a vertical, neat slice) and in less than a second, another bullet was fired.

**. . . . .**

A group of panting people reached Narita Medical Center's front entrance; most of them had their palms resting upon their knees, with the exception of Shizuo and Celty.

"Are you sure we should just barge in like this? People might be suspicious," Mikado asked to no one in particular as soon as he had regained his breath. "The door is locked as well." Kida added, trying to catch up with his own breath as he looked at Mikado. The teen seemed conflicted. "I should've asked help from Dollars, after all." The dark-haired boy frowned.

Kida clicked his tongue in a scolding way at Mikado's words. "Naïve, Mikado Ryuugamine," he said, ignoring his friend's confused look, "How do you think Dollars would be able to open the door? Just because they're Dollars doesn't mean they can do anything about it."

Shizuo was the first person among them to step inside the front parking lot. "I'll break the door down."

"What?" almost everyone gawked in unison.  
>As if he didn't hear anything, the blond bartender uniform-wearing man continued his trek towards the inside of the hospital. He didn't hear any of them complaining, anyway, and completely ignored the dumbfounded looks (except Celty, of course) they were giving behind his back.<p>

Kida's face was twitching. "Oi," he began, "wouldn't that attract attention?"

"No doubt," Mikado replied in a flash.

Rather unexpectedly, Anri joined in the worry-full conversation. "W-What should we do?"

"No idea," Mikado responded in a lower volume.

"_I think we should follow him first." _Celty typed hastily before breaking into a run.

Having no other choice, the other three followed, not to far behind the Dullahan.

**. . . . .**

Kadota wasn't sure that venturing back to the crime scene—where a bullet was fired just minutes ago—is a good idea, especially with _this _guy (he unconsciously glanced at Izaya) lurking around. The area should be crowded by people, if not police, by the time they arrive at the hallway.

His suspicions were aroused more when he spotted a nurse or two walking in a direction opposite them. The beanie-wearing man was aware that the hospital is very quiet, just like when they first came here to pursue Ran. They hardly encounter another person in the vicinity, especially along the hallways. Not even patients.

_Come to think of it, do they really have patients here? _Kadota wondered as the two nurses walked passed them.

It was then he realized.

The nurses didn't look surprised, to say the least. Their expressions were, to put it bluntly, blank, as he turned to look at their backs.

A distinct sound of a gunshot should be heard by at least people lounging around the elevator, which was located in the area between the front lobby and the back area where they were during the moment the gun was fired. Or was it coincidence that no one was near the elevator at the time of incident? Somehow, Kadota found that hard to believe.

The two nurses looked like they didn't know or heard about it at all, but something clearly seems off. He stared as the two womanly forms disappeared from the hallway. Assuming they really didn't know anything, shouldn't the two nurses be a little bit more friendly with each other—like chatting or such—instead of putting on stern faces? Or the employees of this hospital were simply that way?

_No, that can't be the answer_, he told himself. He had only assumed that they didn't know anything. His assumption might as well be wrong.

If they _did _hear or know about the one time the gun was fired, that means they were hiding it.

"Are you coming, Dotachin~?"

The familiar voice of Izaya broke Kadota's chain of thoughts as said man cringed at the overly-used nickname he resented.

"Yeah," he jogged lightly to catch up, noticing that Izaya was holding his phone, the downloaded map on display.

Kadota looked down at the floor, his beanie shading his eyes.

_People in this hospital are hiding something._

He shifted his gaze from the clean, white floor to look at Izaya's back.

_Does he know anything about this?_

**. . . . .**

She could smell the gunpowder each time she breathes in; it was rather sickening and it made her stomach and head spin in a very unhealthy way. Aside of the nausea-like sensations assaulting her, she couldn't seem to feel anything else. Her two green eyes were concealed by tightly shut eyelids, her eyebrows creased, and her lips were pressed to form a thin line in anticipation. The only thing she could focus on, unfortunately, was the dull, revolting aroma of gunpowder.

Her mind couldn't think too much—thanks to the stomach-turning and headache-inducing smell that invaded her nostrils, no matter how much she tried to hold her breath in. Apparently the sound of the gun being fired still rang in her eyes, and she felt very familiar with the unpleasant adrenaline running fiercely. She experienced a very similar situation not too long ago, and she absolutely didn't want to be reminded of the feeling.

A second felt way longer that it usually was—definitely clichéd, but she understood now. The only thing that passed her mind in that short span of time was that Juan—that one hell of easily-provoked, arrogant idiot—just fired a gun, and in point-blank range too, she added. That is, if she had been the one shot.

Her eyes were still closed tight as she tried her bestto endure the pain as she waited for the stinging feeling to come, just like the last time she had been shot. It had been completely unexpected, and she didn't even have time to register that a bullet just ripped through her muscles. The pain had coursed through her body like a great wave, and she had to listen to her rapid heartbeat in her ears the whole time. It was horrible, to say the least.

…but the pain she anticipated didn't seem to come.

Meanwhile, Kadota and Izaya were still making their way through the various hallways—the former wondered if a lot of patients had lost their way among these hallways, which reminded him of the disturbing thought he came up a few moments ago, about how the hospital was way too suspicious. Not many nurses or doctors were around, not to mention patients. He was curious of the reason why—without any patients to handle, how will the hospital manage to survive, as they have to pay the employees monthly, and that their amount of paycheck could possibly bigger than the hospital's income?

If that was the case, he thought as they entered a new hallway—he recognized the hallway as their destination, the hospital must be in big debt, which aroused another question: how do they pay back the big amount of money?

Kadota was forced to push his thoughts aside when he registered the sound of Izaya's quickening footsteps. The door was less than ten meters ahead of them, he noticed, but how are they going to open it?

It was then he noticed the sound of someone approaching—not someone, rather, it was a group of people. The sound of their hasty footsteps grew in volume as the group approached gradually. It wasn't long until the group arrived in their hallway from another located to their left—of course, it was Shizuo and the others, as expected.

The aforementioned tall, blonde man glared hard at Izaya, his eyes screaming "GET OUTTA THE WAY, FLEA!" as a silent message—though Kadota doubted that it would be silent if Shizuo had screamed it out instead. And, as if they have some sort of telepathic ability, Izaya stayed back from the door.

With a powerful lunge, Shizuo launched an equally (if not more) powerful kick, the locked door being his target. And, like any other object no matter how insanely heavy or big, it flung backwards and landed roughly with a loud crash.

The sight of what was beyond the door made everyone rather surprised, as it wasn't a room like they expected—save for Izaya, since the disturbingly informative informant never did have any expectations. It was a hallway, eerie, reeking with the smell of drug, lights shining a pale green that just added to the disturbing atmosphere. And, on top of the racks neatly placed row by row, were various glass tubes with some sort of liquid inside, each and every one of them labeled.

Izaya let out an intrigued smile—_so this is the place_, his fast mind thought after quickly connecting the dots of logic.

When the group was about to move forward (much to their own displeasure, since it was very creepy), Shizuo held out his arm to stop them. Even when shielded by tinted glasses, he could still clearly see a heavy-looking metal door and the number panel on the side. Without much of a warning, he ran into the room and rammed his fist with a loud "ORA!" on the metal door.

It took another ram of the fist—Shizuo's fist—to throw the door open.

It didn't even take a second for him to find the people inside the room looking at him, dumbfounded.

But when he spotted the gun in Juan's hand, his fist directly collided with the person's stomach, sending him flying across the room, bumping into the trays with various medical equipments and falling down with a loud noise.

Ran looked at Juan's helpless form as it flung to a corner of the room, and it was then she realized the slight stinging on her side. It was a scrape, she noticed while she examined it through her jacket—the clothing was slightly ripped. She put a finger on the pained area and winced.

"Hey!" She heard Shizuo's approaching footsteps. "Are you alright?" His voice was laced with concern.

The brunette nodded, trying to get a good look at the wound. "I think the bullet scraped me."

She blinked.

Suddenly, like water drained into a hole in the sink, everything came to her. Juan fired, she desperately tried to dodge, and the bullet managed to scrape her waist. That would mean the bullet would run through—

Ran turned to look at the person sitting on that leather chair.

I had to cut it there.

**In case you're wondering, the group went to the front entrance instead of going back through the back entrance (save for Izaya and Kadota) did it to avoid suspicions. **

I SO AM GONNA WRITE REBORN! AFTER THIS.

*shot*

...

REEEEEEBORN! REVIEW WITH YOUR DYING WILL!


	43. (No Title)

**Disclaimer** : Durarara! © Ryohgo Narita.

Ran Ryogo, Kazuki Ryogo, Shun Ryogo, Ryogaki Ryogo, Hinamori Ryogo, Juumon Sumimura, Juan Kagoyama © grammarsucks.

**Author's Note **: REAL LIFE SUCKS. SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE. I get the feeling a lot of readers don't like the last chapter...?

Chapter 43 –

"Nasty heat," she grumbled quietly under her breath, fanning her face with some unused papers as she leaned back on the comfortable couch.

_"It's winter, Ran." _Celty typed.

She silently stared at the phone in front of her face.

"Global warming," she finally replied.

_"You're sitting in the middle of an air-conditioned room."_

"…"

_"I find it rather strange that you feel hot in here."_

"…"

_"And you're fanning yourself."_

"You might want to stop doing that to her," a new voice cheerfully chimed in the slightly one-sided conversation, "you know how she can be when she's pissed." Izaya paused to glance at the brunette on the other couch. "Right, Ran-chan?" he said in a teasing tone, complete with a grin—that hypocrite, he just told Celty not to tease her!

Ran was obviously not amused at the gesture. "How I wish you could get out of here."

Izaya let out a chuckle as he turned in his chair. "This is _my_ office."

"You don't say."

"How are you feeling?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you graze your waist weeks ago?"

She glared at him angrily. "Don't disgust me with your sentiments."

He didn't take it as a threat—the raven-haired informant simply laughed it off in his usual carefree way instead. "Don't worry, it's just small talk," he replied, his chair turned sideways as he examined the racks on the other side of the room; "don't you want to know what happened to Juumon-san and Kagoyama-kun?"

The sentence earned a grunt from the other resident in the room.

Juan Kagoyama.

"I'm right here," he paused, "Orihara."

Ran looked like she was trying her best to hold in her anger, if her clenching white fists were anything to go by. Izaya looked amused.

Certainly having an enemy sit with you in the same room within reach was _interesting_.

Juan fixed his glasses and let out an irritated sigh—which was probably caused by Ran's evident glowering—and put his hands into his pocket. The young man did not look healthy. Apparently the chain of events that was unraveled before them a few hours ago, including him being propelled by Shizuo's fist, thus making him slam on the concrete wall, wasn't good for the heart. You don't say. At first it was Black Hole, then him, and then Juumon. Their powers crumbled like crushed cookies in just a few seconds when they faced the ones opposing them… though it technically should just be the _one _opposing them, the only person physically possible being Shizuo.

Izaya vaguely wondered if this Juan person would want to dissect Shizuo and get his violent DNAs out of his system.

Said blonde man had not been present in Izaya's office, obviously. No one wanted him to go berserk inside a building with much glass and tables and racks and chess sets to overturn—Izaya was secretly thankful that the blond had more brain than he'd expected, because if the book racks were to be overturned,_ his treasure would be revealed and damaged_.

"When can I get out of here?" Juan murmured the question quietly, the annoyance and impatience dripping in his voice.

A nerve on Ran's forehead popped out.

"Shut the fuck up, imbecile. You're the prisoner here. Until you spill, you'll never get out of this place. Just curl up and die here." Her sharp voice rambled.

Celty indifferently looked at the brunette's direction, watching her lean back on the couch violently with furrowing brows. She surely was pissed. Izaya, however, seemed accustomed to this kind of attitude—not surprising, since he was the only known person that never failed to exasperate the hell her.

Ran's pissed-off level was way higher than her usual. The glare she occasionally sent to their 'prisoner' Juan Kagoyama screamed out "please, can I just torture the life of this man?" over and over.

On that note, you'll have to know why Juan Kagoyama was in Izaya's abode in the first place.

**A few hours ago**

Tough luck, Shizuo thought. He supposed Ikebukuro was a city full of miraculous happenings and unpredictable events, and he always thought it was right (mainly because he _is _one of the beings that caused the city to be like a box of surprises), but after _this_ incident, his belief about the city had been strengthened—much, much, more.

He heard of people, mostly about people and their connections with certain, rare events. Up until now, he kept listening. People that won the first prize lottery for, like, ten times in a row; well, that's average, for him; then there's Dollars' first meeting; and then there's _him, _a person who hates violence but keeps doing so without showing reluctance on his face—is that hypocrisy? He couldn't care.

And then there are always the unlucky people—people that die from 'stray' bullets.

They didn't expect that they would die. Some of them, especially the young ones, maybe had never thought about death before. Although not connected in any way, some people mourn for these people. They pity them and say things like, "Why does he have to die?"

Well, life fucks with people. That's what Shizuo thinks. Life fucks with everyone, including him, including the guy he just punched (also causing him to collide with a wall and made a mess of the trays full of medical tools), including this person sitting on a chair.

People ask things like why a person has to die.

As he nonchalantly looked at the man's upper body, maintaining a blank face all the while staring at a big red gash on his side, Shizuo found himself asking:

_Why does he have to _live_?_

_Why don't you die, crap?_

Rhetorical question, that. Such a horrible man he was—sacrificing his own, one and only daughter for the sake of scientific research, cutting her apart when she was only a newborn, claiming that the experiment failed without even showing a _fake _sad face? And now he got shot unexpectedly, the bullet planted deep in his torso, and he's not dead? What the hell?

Life fucks with everyone, including this daughter of his, staring at the wounded man wide-eyed for what seemed like forever—maybe it felt like forever because time, like, suddenly froze?

Shizuo did not know. Shizuo did not care.

All he thought was that he was _not_ pleased to know that this daughter, brown hair and green eyes, with athleticism and intelligence, with a somewhat social life, with that kind of personality—all of her, _just might be fake_.

He knew along their friendship that she resents the possibility as well, maybe as much as him, maybe more.

Life fucks with everyone, especially her, because as much as she wanted to hate this man until eternity ends, she still couldn't deny the fact that _he was the one that made her that way._

She wanted to be like other people, she wanted to also hold the motto "shut up, this is the way I am _supposed to be_." She stopped because she couldn't, because she was not supposed to be like she is now. How can she love herself when she doesn't even know who _herself _is?

The blonde somehow knew that she was conflicted about herself all along, but he didn't feel sure about it. She looked like she didn't care anymore, like she had already accepted herself, but something says she does not feel like that on the inside. He somehow knew that if she decided to be happy about herself the way she is now, she must admit that her father was the one that made her that way, and she's happy about it, which is wrong.

If she wanted to deny that she wasn't supposed to be like herself now, she'll keep trying to discover herself, but deep down inside she knows that it's not possible, because _he _tinkered with her in such a way that there is no way her original state could be restored. She'll keep trying to discover herself, but it would be for nothing.

Shizuo was afraid that Ran would experience such feelings—feelings that repeat themselves over and over and over and over again, feeling that has no end, that keep going through her before shifting into another feeling and shifting back to the feeling she first felt, feelings that go on forever…

Those feelings are like cycles. No matter what, in the end, she'll come back to step one, before circling those feeling all over again, only to be back to the place you first started.

Shizuo remembered that a wounded man was sitting there in front of him, bleeding, but that didn't seem to be his mind's priority. The wound was probably deep, but it wasn't fatal.

Before Ran could register anything into her mind, he grabbed her upper arm and dragged her out of the room, running. At the same time, Izaya and the others entered the room.

"Get her out of here." He said to Celty.

"_Why? Is she hurt?"_

"Just get her out of here."

The female Dullahan stayed silent for a while. It was obvious that she was hesitant at first (maybe she was wondering who will keep Shizuo and Izaya from killing each other without Ran around), but she later grabbed the brunette's hand and led her to where she parked her motorcycle.

Almost immediately Izaya approached Juan Kagoyama's limp body. Mikado eyed the informant with curious eyes—he wondered if Izaya had targeted Juan all this time, or if this was part of his plan that none of them knew.

"Unconscious already, huh," the black-haired man murmured to himself. He reached for the bespectacled man's arm and slung it over his shoulder, trying to prop him. Izaya turned to talk to Kadota. "I'm bringing this guy back to my office. You're gonna have to use Togusa's van."

"I'll contact him." Kadota knew better than to ask—as if he would get an answer. "What about him?" the man turned to look at Juumon.

"This is a hospital, he'll be okay. On the other hand, we should get out of this place quickly before anyone spots us."

**Present Time**

Ran snapped her head at Izaya. "Why in the world you brought him here anyway? I could've picked the gun up and shot him in the head." She jeered.

"That's exactly why I brought him here, Ran-chan~" Again, Izaya spun like mad in his chair. He didn't look like he felt dizzy after all the spinning he'd done. Ran seethed at the way he uttered her nickname. "I want to ask him some questions before you kill him~"

"What questions?" She asked.

**. . . . .**

None of them spoke as they walked back home, not even Kida. None of them knew the reason behind their silence, either. The three of them secretly knew that what was left was for Ran to finish by herself.

Mikado suddenly regretted asking both Kida and Anri for help and unintentionally dragging them into the mess—although he already found out more than half a year ago that his two best friends were previously involved in the indistinguishable city business. For all the trouble they've gone through just to help him, should he apologize?

Kida's voice broke Mikado out of his thoughts. "I wonder how she feels."

They walked some more, still in silence, because they were also thinking the same thing and could not find an answer.

"U-Um," Anri interrupted the quietness among them, "I think this is it."

When they heard the words, both Mikado and Kida realized that they were nearing the street's junction where they usually part when making their way back home after school. They had to part ways yet again.

"See you tomorrow," Sonohara Anri allowed herself to bow and say the parting.

"See ya," Kida smiled at her, and then at Mikado, before making way to his own home.

Mikado returned the smile to both of his friends. After watching them walk their own ways, slowly beginning to join in the dull grey crowd, he decided that he should go home too.

It had been a long day, after all.

**. . . . .**

"What questions?"

Izaya got up from his seat, and then approached the chess set near the couch. There were two pieces of shoji—one a king, the other a queen. A smile crept on his face, as he knew that Ran's eyes were on him, and that she was finally serious.

His fingers swiftly picked up the king piece before throwing it away to the bin successfully.

Then he turned to look at her.

"Questions I imagine you would like to ask."

**. . . . .**

The next chapter would most likely be the last.

Sorry for the bad grammar or whatever, haven't written in months.

I'm writing in strikethrough to test if it will appear on FFn.

Edit: So the strikethrough didn't appear.


	44. Great Timing

**Disclaimer** : Durarara! © Ryohgo Narita.

Ran Ryogo, Kazuki Ryogo, Shun Ryogo, Ryogaki Ryogo, Hinamori Ryogo, Juumon Sumimura, Juan Kagoyama © grammarsucks.

**Please read this first.** I just found a topic on Lunaescence's forum about people that plagiarizes works from a lot of sites (mostly Luna) and post it to their blog or Quizilla account. Some of them plainly copies and pastes the stories, others changes the title and a little bit of the contents, but you can still identify it as your story. This really makes me paranoid, because there's someone on Luna that read the topic and thought 'oh, this is not gonna happen to me, because my story's not that popular' but then she found someone plagiarizing her work. The thing is, I thought of the same thing as her! So please, **if you happen to find a story that is pretty similar to mine, please please please PM me**. I am so scared right now.

Sorry for the late update, by the way. My imagination's kinda... scarce. I'm not surprised if this chapter's no good.

**THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER**.

**Warning:** Expect to read a phrase being repeated over and over at different points in the story. Also expect some—no, lots of fail.

Chapter 44 – Great Timing

"Questions about me, I suppose." The brunette ran a hand through her hair with an uninterested look on her face.

"Precisely," Izaya grinned until his eyes disappeared, "would you like to ask him for yourself?"

Ran continued combing her hair with her fingers, ignoring Izaya's disturbing smile as if the man hadn't been there at all. A few moments passed in silence. During that period, Ran could feel everyone's eyes on her, except Celty, of course.

"Why do you even want to ask about it, Izaya?" This time, her green eyes collided with his dark ones. She didn't stop combing her hair—the cool demeanor of hers was beginning to peak interests from the residents of the room, especially Izaya. She continued, "I thought what happened to me twenty-two years ago was clear enough. I assume _you _assume it wasn't the truth that we had been accustomed to all this time, being the suspecting person you are."

The raven-haired informant smiled sardonically. "You say that as if you're an unsuspecting person."

"Whether I am unsuspecting or not doesn't have to do with my question," she quipped.

Again, it was silent. Ran and Izaya were engaged in a nonchalant staring contest.

She stood up from her seat on the couch. "Either way, I don't think there is anything more we should know about my surgery. I'm going home." She patted her shorts and fixed her jacket before heading towards the door. Celty handed out her PDA for the brown-haired girl to read.

_"Wait. I'll bring you home."_

Ran blinked. "Okay. Thanks, Celty."

Said Dullahan stood up and followed suit, the two of them now heading towards the door. Ran paused with a hand gripping the doorknob. She turned around.

"Call me when you're finished with him," she cocked her head towards Juan, "my fists need to do some talking."

Izaya grinned again. "Roger. See ya later."

"I hope not." The door closed.

**. . . . .**

Shizuo sat on one of the seats in Russian Sushi, trying so hard to avert his attention from a very talkative and promotional Simon. Maybe he should order, otherwise there might be another fist fight between the two of them and more mess to attend to. "I'll have the fatty tuna, Simon," he said while reaching for the cigarette pack in his pocket with a hand. Once the item was found, Shizuo expertly took a cancer stick out and lit it, before slipping it in between his lips.

"Coming right up!" Simon quickly ushered himself towards another table, attending other scared-looking customers.

The blonde man couldn't care less to his surroundings, as his eyes, concealed by the pair of tinted glasses, glared at the ceiling uninterestedly. He didn't even know what possessed him into actually eating there, not to mention Simon's suspicious 'we don't serve human meat, even when 30% off!' was actually starting to bother him. After all the chaos, Shizuo merely felt that he wanted to have a break—Tom gave him the day off, too, and the timing couldn't be better.

Timing couldn't be better indeed.

"Why are we here, Celty? I thought you were going to bring me home."

He recognized the voice, and how the conversation sounded like it was one-sided. Shizuo heard the only talking voice coming closer before he could spot the person he expected it to be.

"Shizuo," Ran called as soon as she saw the familiar bunch of bright blonde hair. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Me neither."

_"Mind if we share the table?"_

Shizuo shrugged. Celty knew that he wouldn't mind—it was a rhetorical question anyway. The two women situated themselves in front of Shizuo before calling Simon and having their orders taken.

The blonde puffed out rings of smoke. "Done with Juan?"

Ran raised a shoulder. "You could say so. I haven't punched him, though."

Shizuo let out an amused scoff at the brunette's remark.

"By the way, have you seen the kids around?" Ran asked.

His eyebrows scrunched up. "…Kids?"

"Mikado and his friends, I mean."

_"Aren't they on winter break or something?"_

"Beats me," Ran said.

**. . . . .**

"Dotachin~ I'm hungry~"

"Yeah, let's go eat something!"

"Fine, fine. Russian Sushi?"

"Yay! Sushi!"

Togusa, feeling extra hungry, decided to drive the van extra fast, while Kadota tried to ignore Walker and Erika's loud otaku talk. Before long, they were at Tokyo Hand*–Walker and Erika's talk turned into wails and complaints of their stomach's emptiness, Togusa tried to run the red, and Kadota sighed every one or two minutes.

They were almost there, what's the big deal?

**. . . . .**

Kida sighed in what seemed to be bliss. "Ah, another date with the cute Anri-chan~ That blouse really fits you, right, Mikado?"

"You said that about the blouse over ten times, Masaomi," Mikado sighed as well, only in a negative kind of way, "Has it ever occurred to you that Sonohara-san might be uncomfortable?"

Sonohara, dressed in a coat-covered feminine blue floral blouse and a white skirt, smiled nervously all the while, quietly watching the two close friends debating on the little things. The three of them went out to the movies three hours ago, and after accompanying Mikado to a bookstore he often frequents, Kida decided that they should go eat lunch together.

It was then Mikado realized he still had some of the Russian Sushi promo coupons for three.

"Anyway, you've got that coupon, right? Don't tell me you left it at home, man! I am starving!"

"I have it with me, Masaomi. Stop complaining, we're almost there."

"You have it with you? You sure?"

Mikado sighed, his lips forming a pout. One of his hands dug into his pocket and he took out a crumpled Russian Sushi coupon.

Timing couldn't be better.

Out of nowhere, a chilling breeze suddenly blew, causing the crumpled but precious red paper between Mikado's fingers to slip out of his grasp.

"The coupon!"

**. . . . .**

The van gang decided to park the van a few blocks away and walk to Russian Sushi.

"Hurry up, hurry up, Dotachin!"

"Yeah, I'm hungry!"

Togusa laughed a little at Walker and Erika's usual hyperactive antics and Kadota's irritated face. Both were priceless.

Speaking of Kadota's face, the man blinked a few times while he looked ahead of them. Togusa followed his friend's line of vision, only to find a group of three teenagers, one of them laughing boisterously at the other male's slightly flustered reaction—who knows what were they talking about.

"Yo."

The once boisterously laughing teenager blinked, recognizing the voice. He grinned when he saw who it was.

"It's you guys!"

"Hey, it's Kida! And Masaomi too! What'cha doing?"

"Ah, hello."

Timing couldn't be better.

**. . . . . **

Ran quietly munched on her food when she heard faint laughing and exuberant talking that seemed to be outside the restaurant. Being her usual indifferent self, she didn't pay much attention to the voices—at least not until they were close enough for her to hear. She somehow felt familiar with the voices.

"Welcome!" Simon's bass voice boomed as he greeted the customer.

"Simon! Long time no see!"

"We're hungry! We wanna eat!"

No wonder they sound familiar.

"Walker! Look who's here!"

"It's Shizuo-san! And Ran-chan! And the CG!"

_"I am not computer-made."_

Even Kadota couldn't suppress the smile. "Fancy meeting you guys here."

"Simon," Ran waved a hand, "you don't mind if we move to a larger table, right?"

"Please, go ahead~"

"Sushi! Sushi!"

"Calm down, Erika. People are staring."

"But I'm hungry!"

"What do you want to eat, Anri-chan~?"

**. . . . .**

"_Aren't you gonna do anything about Juan?"_

"_You mean ask him about the surgery?" she paused, "why should I?"_

"_Why not?"_

"_I'm fine this way, Shizuo."_

_He fell into silence for a moment. "You do realize this is your only chance to ask him. Who knows what that flea is going to do to him."_

"_I don't need to."_

"…_why?"_

"_You're unusually talkative today."_

"_Just answer the damn question," he grunted._

"_I'm fine with the way I am now."_

"_Meaning?"_

"_I can accept myself."_

**. . . . .**

**FIN**

*The real thing is Tokyu Hand, but it's pictured in the anime as Tokyo Hand.

**I suck at endings. Don't kill me.**


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